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KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Fifteen rabbits have been rescued, thanks to the Ulster County SPCA.

Investigators have arrested Lillian Helfant and charged her with 15 counts of failure to provide proper sustenance to animals.

Shelter officials say red flags were raised last month when Helfant voluntarily handed over nine mistreated, abused rabbits to the Ulster County SPCA shelter. Of those rabbits, one had to be put down. More than a dozen more animals in need of medical treatment were seized from Helfant's property.

"The future of these rabbits is in question. We're going to take care of them, but it's really up to the court to decide what the final disposition of these animals is going to be. We've dealt with many rabbit cases before at the UCSPCA. Every rabbit that we've had before has been adopted and hopefully these rabbits will be adopted into loving homes. We're waiting to see what the court determines," Brian Shapiro, Executive Director of the Ulster County SPCA said.

The surviving eight rabbits that were voluntarily surrendered to the shelter are currently available for adoption.