SPCA investigators have handed over documents to lawyers in a case of possible animal cruelty at Long Beach, near Dunedin, in January.
The SPCA launched an investigation at the property on January 28 after it was called in by the new owner, who believed up to 30 cats and four dogs had been locked inside for long periods of time.
SPCA Otago executive officer Sophie McSkimming said the file was ‘‘still open'' and it was being reviewed by lawyers to ascertain whether there were grounds to proceed in prosecuting the former tenants.
‘‘There's a huge amount of work that goes into one of these [cases],'' Ms McSkimming said.
‘‘We need to make sure we've got it right.''
The new owner said in January he did not know how bad the house was before he bought it.
He said a dog had been locked in a chiller, which had been used as a kennel, and teeth-marks on the door showed it had tried to chew its way out.
The Otago Daily Times also visited the house, where animal mistreatment and squalid living conditions were evident.
The floors and walls were covered in cat and dog faeces, which was piled up to 30cm high in places.
It was revealed on January 30 that two dogs were removed by the SPCA from the same address in 2014.
When approached for comment in January, a former tenant, who the ODT chose not to name, did not want to comment on the house or the alleged mistreatment of animals.
A time frame around reviewing the file and possible prosecution was unknown.
