A Franklin County resident who surrendered 147 animals to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA-Angell) in April is now being investigated by MSPCA Law Enforcement.

According to a statement from MSPCA-Angell this week, 147 animals, including “pigs, goats, chickens, geese, ducks, cattle, horses, donkeys and dogs,” were removed by MSPCA-Angell staff from a single property in Franklin County on April 16 and were formally surrendered by the owner on April 22.

Some of the animals have since given birth, raising the number to more than 150, the statement continued. The animals were relocated to Nevins Farm in Methuen.

MSPCA-Angell did not provide information on the animals’ former owner, nor what town the property is located in. Senior Public Relations Manager Sara-Rose Brenner said an investigation by MSPCA Law Enforcement is ongoing, and more information on the former owner and the case may be released at a later date. MSPCA Law Enforcement Director Chris Schindler echoed the sentiment in an interview Wednesday afternoon.

This is not the first time the MSPCA has been involved with this individual in Franklin County, according to MSPCA-Angell. In March, the owner surrendered an emaciated 2-year-old Percheron filly named Astrid as part of an ongoing MSPCA investigation, according to a March 24 Facebook post by MSPCA-Angell.

According to MSPCA-Angell Equine and Farm Animal Outreach and Rescue Manager Kaycie McCarthy, Astrid was emaciated and had sores on her body, indicating she was on the ground “for a prolonged period of time.” She was treated for pneumonia and parasites at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine before going to Nevins Farm to recover.

While Schindler declined to comment on specifics of the current case in Franklin County, he provided information on how MSPCA Law Enforcement operates and what it does in investigations. He said the department of six officers responds across the state, working with local police departments in investigations of animal cruelty.

In terms of animal surrenders, Schindler explained owners have the option to voluntarily give up their animals, noting that this process, as opposed to seizures, comes on a case-by-case basis.

“There are some cases in which owners, through part of the investigation, make a proactive decision to surrender animals,” he said. “On the other side of that is if it’s a case in which we need to pursue a search warrant and seize the animals, there is a legal process which takes place so the animals — they’ll be in our custody — still remain in the ownership of the person [that] they were seized from.”

Schindler noted not every case that is reported to MSPCA is criminal in nature. He recommends that any animal welfare concerns be reported, and the MSPCA offers an anonymous reporting option on its website.

Adoption fees for the pigs, goats, chickens and fowl at Nevins Farm will be waived for Saturday, June 7, and Sunday, June 8, in an effort to free up space at the farm. Mike Keiley, vice president of the MSPCA-Angell’s Animal Protection Division, said in a statement that the goal is to get at least 120 of the animals adopted to open up space on the farm for other intakes.

Keiley estimates that caring for the roughly 150 animals, including Astrid, has already cost the MSPCA about $25,000. He said there are resources within the MSPCA to take care of the animals, but the number transferred to MSPCA’s care is a strain on its resources.

“Obviously, following that kind of intake, our resources are really being pushed to the brink,” Keiley said in a statement.

Nevins Farm’s adoption hours this weekend are from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. both days, and will take place at the farm at 400 Broadway in Methuen. Advance registration is requested and more information is available at tinyurl.com/y5k7xen5.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.