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Updated: 11:22 PM EDT Apr 6, 2023Infinite Scroll Enabled

Janice Limon 

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OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. —

An Upstate woman faces dozens of charges, some of them felonies, for what she did to animals on her property, ranging from a bearded dragon lizard to dogs, officials said.

Master Deputy Jimmy Watt, with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Department, said Jennifer Marie Hunnicutt, 36, of Seneca, was arrested Wednesday on 35 charges related to animal cruelty.

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Watt said the investigation started on March 13 when animal control officers were called to Hunnicutt’s property on Alexander Road, near Seneca, for a welfare check after reports of a goat being stuck in a fence and multiple animals that had been abandoned.

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After receiving no response after knocking on the front door of the residence, the animal control deputies found two dead goats on the property, according to Watt.

He said deputies then obtained a search warrant for the property in order to search for other animals that may be deceased or neglected.

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That’s when deputies discovered a total of 15 dead animals, including four dogs, one cat, one bearded dragon domesticated lizard, one chicken and eight goats, Watt said.

He said the dead animals were either in a state of decomposition or only skeletal remains were recovered.

Deputies also discovered six animals that were still alive, including one ram, one ewe, and four pygmy goats, according to Watt.

He said the remains of the dead animals, as well as the animals that were still alive, were seized by animal control deputies.

Hunnicutt is charged with:

• Six counts of ill-treatment of animals, in general, overworking (first offense)
• 15 counts of felony ill treatment of animals in general, torture
• 14 counts of abandonment of animals

Investigators say Hunnicutt deprived the animals of necessary sustenance and/or shelter, or by omission, which led the death of some of the animals.

They also said Hunnicutt was not seen at the property location for about a month and a half, Watt said.

Hunnicutt was also charged with abandoning some of the animals without securing another owner or providing the necessities of life.

She was released from jail Thursday after posting bail on a $102,975 surety bond, Watt said.

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation.