ORIGINAL PHOTOS VIA NEW SMYRNA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT
The owner of a traveling circus sideshow has been arrested in New Smyrna Beach after animals were found locked in cages inside a broken-down box truck, according to the local police department.
Raymond Welch, 57, of Edgewater, owner of the Purple Pirate Circus Side Show (Facebook), was arrested Tuesday, October 6, and booked into the Volusia County jail, FOX 35 reported, citing the New Smyrna Beach Police Department.
Police found the truck near State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach. Officers estimated the animals had been inside for 10 to 12 hours. Welch told investigators the truck broke down the night before and he left it there, according to the reports. Police said the animals were in cages with no ventilation, lighting or climate control, and some lacked adequate food or water. Officers found two chickens, three rats, two tortoises and two boa constrictors. One rat was dead.
The two chickens and two rats went to the Edgewater Animal Shelter. The tortoises and snakes went to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which FOX 35 reported is also pursuing charges against Welch.
ALL PHOTOS VIA NEW SMYRNA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT
