New Hampshire shelter faces ‘enormous’ breeding problem after man surrenders nearly 1,000 mice

(CNN) — When an overwhelmed man came to a New Hampshire animal shelter last week hoping to surrender 150 mice, shelter employees were ready to assist.

But now, the shelter is facing an “enormous” breeding problem, the director said – because the man didn’t have just 150 mice. He had 150 containers of mice.

“When he first arrived, he said he had 150 mice,” said Lisa Dennison, executive director of the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The man later clarified that he had 150 tanks with mice in them.

The situation has spiraled out of control due to rapid breeding, creating a substantial problem for the homeowner and the local shelter.

“The breeding of the mice has just created this enormous problem for him,” Dennison told CNN on Sunday.

The man brought three large plastic tubs containing 73 mice to the shelter last Monday, “overwhelmed by the sheer number of mice in his possession,” NHSPCA said in a news release. As the week progressed, NHSPCA staff continued to make trips to his home, filling vans with additional tubs of mice. The shelter now has nearly 1,000 mice.

“The mice were living in filthy plastic tubs that hadn’t been cleaned in what appeared to be a long time,” the SPCA said.

“We have never seen anything like this. And the longer we wait to get all of the mice out of their terrible living conditions, the greater the likelihood is that the numbers will continue to grow,” said Savannah Alcero, director of animal and veterinary services at the SPCA. “With a gestation period of just around 20 days, mice can reproduce at an alarming rate.”

Dennison, seated with stacks of containers filled with mice behind her, is working to care for the mice, find them permanent homes, and prevent further breeding.

“We were separating the males and females,” she said. “And now we have many females on pregnancy watch because they breed rapidly.”

So far, 18 mice have been adopted, and many others have been sent to regional welfare organizations.

Elisha Murray adopted four females named Kelly, Dee, Maxine, and Eleven, despite having told her children last week, “No more rodents,” The Associated Press reported.

“We’ve always had small rodents as pets — rats, mice, hamsters, the whole nine — so I just figured I could help out,” she said. “We have the whole setup, everything I need at home already, so I figured, what the hell.”

“That is just the tip of the iceberg,” Dennison said as she appealed to the public for help.

Many of the mice have been given names, such as Doug, Daryl, Dude, and Deputy, while others are named after candies like M&M.

“Help these mice find wonderful new homes. They are great fun,” Dennison urged.