Nearly 150 animal cruelty charges for Brick Township man

An Ocean County man has been charged with 149 counts of animal cruelty.

Jeffrey Finlay, 56, of Brick, was charged Wednesday in connection with the removal of cats and dogs from his home more than a year ago, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

According to authorities, Finlay called police on May 4, 2023, to ask for help getting the animals out of his home.

Officers discovered approximately 157 cats and three dogs living in the home, the prosecutor’s office said.

It took workers more than 24 hours to remove the animals from the home and take them to be evaluated at local animal facilities.

Finlay was initially charged with failure to provide care to a living animal or creature. The charges were escalated when police received veterinary reports about the animals being removed from Finlay’s home.

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According to the report, twenty-five cats had to be euthanized and four of them suffered serious bodily injuries. The poor conditions were determined to be due to Finlay’s failure to provide them with adequate care.

A warrant was issued for Finlay’s arrest, and he turned himself in on June 14 last year, according to police.

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