Man Turns 94 Hamsters Over to Animal Shelter

(NewsCore) - A Massachusetts man became "overwhelmed" by his horde of 94 hamsters and turned them over to a local animal shelter for adoption, the Eagle Tribune reported Saturday.

The hamsters were well cared for and in good health, said Mike Keiley, director of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Small Animal Shelter in Methuen, Mass. Their owner, who was not identified, "ran out of space for them and that's when he came in," he said.

The man decided on his own to surrender the hamsters and offered to bring them to the shelter in a taxi, but "the situation was not dire, so we asked him to wait a week so we could prepare for them," Keiley said.

Some of the hamsters will be sent to other shelters in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, where they will be available for adoption.

The man kept them in aquariums, buckets and Tupperware containers in his Lawrence, Mass., apartment for about five years.

"At first, he wanted to keep a couple of them, but then he changed his mind," Animal Control Officer Ellen Bistany said.

Read more: Eagle Tribune