SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Humane Society is struggling to find out what happened to hundreds of small animals they delivered to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.

“The trust is absolutely broken right now. We are waiting for them to give us answers, and they are very simple questions we need answers to,” said Nina Thompson from San Diego Humane Society.

In July, San Diego Humane Society reached out to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona to ask whether they had room for small pets, San Diego Humane Society said in an email to FOX 5. The Humane Society of Southern Arizona responded yes; that they had a shortage and would also work with their rescue partners to place the animals, San Diego Humane Society added.

That’s when San Diego Humane Society started planning the transfer of 318 small animals like bunnies, hamsters, guinea pigs and rats.

After reporting to house all of the animals at one mysterious private shelter, the San Diego Humane Society got worried.    

“It’s very scary. The thought of having a single anonymous rescue that nobody has ever heard of, that’s not a registered non-profit, the thought of them taking all of the animals and then them saying they were able to have them placed over a very short time, it’s very scary,” said Thompson.

Now, the Humane Society of Southern Arizona has gone quiet and lawyers are making demands for answers about the safety of the small animals that were transferred to Arizona.

“These are pets that our staff and volunteers have cared for, for months. Some of them have been in our shelter for a very long time. We transferred them to Arizona for them to have a better chance of being adopted. Now we need to know the final outcome. We need to know what happened to these animals,” said Thompson.

The big questions that remain: Are these animals still alive? Are they being cared for, or are they being used for some other purpose?

The question remains open until the Humane Society of Southern Arizona returns calls and shows proof the animals are in good health.

FOX 5 has also reached out to several people at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona during working hours, but has not heard from any representatives.