GILES COUNTY, Tenn. (WHNT) – A Giles County man is charged with 55 counts of animal cruelty after several dozen animals were found in deplorable conditions on his farm just outside of Pulaski.  This is the third time Jeffrey Alan Mitchell has been charged in this type of crime.

Mitchell, 50, was convicted twice in 2009.  That makes these new charges felonies, investigators say.

On Tuesday, April 14, the Giles County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies executed a search warrant at 1900 Ragsdale Lane, just outside the Pulaski city limits.  They found several horses in small lots that were filled with mud, water, feces and urine.  There was very little hay available. Two small horses were locked inside a horse trailer near the bar with no water and were standing in feces and urine-soaked hay.

The animals were in poor health, according to the Sheriff’s Office. A veterinarian euthanized one of the horses because the animal was severely malnourished.

Officers also found seven goats, from babies to adults, in a dog pen standing in urine and feces.

In all, officers removed 54 horses and seven goats from the property.  Mitchell, the owner, surrendered the animals to Volunteer Equine, who will treat the animals and put them up for adoption.  Some of the animals are in poor condition, though, and may have to be put down, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Mitchell was arrested and put in jail, but was released after posting a $55,000 bond.