Officials in Japan found 164 dogs crammed inside a tiny house.
Animal rights activists have branded it as one of the worst cases of animal hoarding the country has ever seen, after the emaciated pooches were rescued from 30 square-metre (323sq foot) house in the city of Izumo.
According to Reuters, animal rights group Dobutsukikin said the hoard of dogs was discovered in the middle of last month following complaints from neighbours.
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Photographs from the house show the dogs piled onto shelves, under tables and on chairs.
Head of Dobutsukikin, Kunihisa Sagami, told Reuters: "The entire floor was filled with dogs and all the floor space you could see was covered with faeces."
Public health workers first visited the house seven years ago, following complaints about noise and a bad smell, but the homeowner refused to let them in to investigate.
The three people who lived at the property told officials they couldn't afford to neuter the animals, so they kept on breeding until the numbers became out of hand.
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Sagami went on to say that the dogs' owners had agreed to give them up and Dobutsukikin is currently arranging medical care for the dogs, before looking for new homes for them.
Earlier this year, an animal right charity in Spain rescued 120 cats from a single home after the owner got evicted.
The cats were rescued by SPAMA Safor, an animal shelter in Valencia, which initially believed there were 96 cats that needed picking up - but later discovered it was actually 120 cats.
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The charity then faced the mammoth task of having to vaccinate and neuter them all as well hunt for new homes.
The cats were left homeless after they and their owner were kicked out of their apartment, which measured just 100 sq metres (1,000 sq ft).
Salvadora Tormas, who works with the shelter, told AFP: "Apparently the owner took in a pair of cats three years ago and they have been procreating ever since.
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"It's a disaster. Someone should have helped this guy."
In an update following the rescue, SPAMA Safor wrote: "Cats who haven't seen sunshine and haven't received any veterinary care, or deworming since they were born, even though they haven't been hungry.
"Together males and females raising in every heat."
Featured Image Credit: Handout/Dobutsukikin