MACON, Ga. — After a Georgia Department of Agriculture inspection, Macon-Bibb County Animal Welfare shelter isn't accepting any more animals. This is because the department issued a "stop order" after an inspection found problems with overcrowding, cleanliness, and maintenance.
Now, Macon-Bibb County is working on resolving violations pointed out in the inspection.
On Friday, Mercer's Women's Basketball team volunteered at the Bibb County Animal Welfare, but one thing some players were shocked about was the overcrowding.
"It's so crowded in here. There's so many in here -- so, so many," said Kiana Barkhoff, a forward for the Women's Basketball team.
This is something the shelter says they hope to change, especially after last week's inspection.
The state says Bibb County's Animal Welfare can't take in any new pets because they were already 50 animals over capacity when the inspection took place, which is why they issued a stop order.
"This really gives our staff, our facility time to take care of things that need to get done and get the capacity down to where it's supposed to be so we can care for every animal in our care," Floore said.
As of Friday, the shelter has 106 dogs and 35 cats, but they need to get it down to their capacity: 80 dogs and 40 cats.
A key problem is only some of those pets can be adopted or rescued.
This is because some pets are "legals," meaning they're caught up in court cases.
Others are strays which can't be put up for adoption during the first seven days.
"Our shelter remains overcrowded at all times because the stray population in Macon-Bibb," Floore said.
The inspection also pointed out concerns with cleanliness and maintenance that included dirty air vents, clogged drains, cage doors that had been chewed through and areas that need quote "severe cleaning." However, Floore said the inspectors visited during their cleaning times which are before the shelter opens.
So, not all cages were up to par, he says.
Moving forward, Floore says the county's priority is to resolve all violations and get the number of pets below the shelter's capacity.
On Tuesday, Bibb County's Facilities Management Department met with Animal Welfare to figure out what changes they can make immediately and develop a game plan to fix the other violations.
To help get more pets adopted, the shelter has reduced adoption costs.
It's now $50 to adopt a dog and $35 to adopt a cat.
As for the state Department of Agriculture inspection, Julie McPeake, the chief communication officer, says the department's legal team is reviewing the Bibb County case for potential administrative action.
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