Man admits keeping scores of feral animals

updated 2:38 p.m. ET Sept. 3, 2009

TEMECULA, Calif. - A Southern California man has acknowledged letting hundreds of feral dogs and cats wander his property and kill each other.

Elisao Jimenez of Temecula entered the plea to three counts of animal cruelty on Wednesday.

Jimenez was arrested in January after authorities found dozens of cats and about 80 dogs at his mobile home. Authorities say the dogs threatened officers, who saw one dog kill another and begin eating it.

Authorities euthanized more than 100 dogs and cats. They also found more than 200 dead cats and dogs decomposing in trash bags.

A Riverside County judge sentenced Jimenez to probation, three days in jail that he's already served and 1,000 hours of community service. The 67-year-old can't keep animals while on probation and must have mental health treatment.

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