FORT VALLEY, Ga. - Sheriff's officials say a middle Georgia man is facing 16 counts of animal cruelty after investigators found starving horses and dead animals on his property.

Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese tells WMAZ-TV that authorities were notified of dead animals on 59-year-old Vernon Crouch's farm last week.

Deese says the sheriff's office called the equine division of the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Fort Valley man's property was quarantined to eliminate the possibility of contagious diseases.

Deese says Crouch told authorities he acquired too many animals to take care of and became overwhelmed. The sheriff says authorities were recently given a court order to seize the remaining horses and a donkey on his property.

It's unclear if Crouch has an attorney.