Outdated facilities are being blamed after pit bulls killed 29 cats at the Dothan Animal Shelter this week.

WTVY reported that shelter workers were shocked to make the discovery when they came into work on Thursday morning.

“Those dogs forced their way out of a pen. Then, they pushed hard enough on galvanized bars to knock [the bars] out of their clamps,” Shelter Director Bill Banks explained to WTVY.

This allowed them to then get inside the cats’ area.

“These dogs were able to eat their way out, for lack of a better term, and attack these cats. That is horrible,” City Commissioner Beth Kenward commented.

She blames the incident on an outdated shelter, saying the city should have done something about the facility a long time ago. Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba is in agreement.

“It’s sad, and there is no doubt that [a new shelter] is overdue,” he emphasized.

City leaders recently made funding a new animal shelter a capital priority. A public-private partnership is still being sought. In addition to financing, land is needed for a new facility. Three to five acres is reportedly ideal.

“We need business owners, private entities, humane societies, animal rights groups, and others to partner with us on this,” Kenward stressed.

As of Friday morning, a decision on what to do with the pit bulls has yet to be made. The pit bulls arrived at the shelter on Wednesday.

Watch WTVY’s report here or below:

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn