LITTLE SILVER – A Monmouth County SPCA volunteer was hoarding hundreds of dead birds in her mother’s borough home, police said.

Animal cruelty charges will be filed against Gretchen Rell, 54, of Little Silver, who also has a home in Ocean Township, for failure to provide proper care, Monmouth County SPCA Chief Law Enforcement Officer Victor “Buddy” Amato said.

On Monday, investigators were seen pulling numerous cardboard boxes, animal crates and bags from the home, all of which contained dead birds, Amato said. There were 18 live birds that were found and they were still counting the number of dead ones late in the afternoon.

“There’s boxes, piled on top of boxes, piled on top of boxes of dead animals,” Amato said.

Amato said there were various types of birds, including seagulls, pigeons, sparrows and doves, found in addition to some dead rabbits and other mammals. Rell volunteers at the MCSPCA as a rehabber, under the guidance of Don Bonica, who is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife, Amato said.

“She’s a rehabber, people don’t bring dead animals to a rehabber,” he said. “At one point all these animals were obviously alive.”