A baby was mauled by ferrets in Delaware County, Pennsylvania on Thursday.

In a disturbing tale of absolute horror, Darby Police Chief Robert Smythe said that around 3:30pm on Thursday, the mother of the baby set the one-month-old baby girl down in a carrier on the first floor of their duplex.

She then went upstairs, where she was when the baby girl started screaming. When she finally came downstairs, she saw a ferret on the baby. She pushed the ferret aside and called for help.

Police say the baby was mauled by the ferrets so badly that part of her nose, upper lip, and cheek were eaten away.

The amount of time that the baby was mauled by the ferrets is not known, but Chief Smythe seemed to have his suspicions that the mother let her baby scream for quite a while before responding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSOOg5qB_3M

“There’s a one-month-old laying there and anywhere from one to three animals are eating it while the child is still alive and screaming. Now, how long does it take you to get downstairs to get to your kid,” the police chief angrily asked. “You think that much flesh would be gone by the time you get down there?”

That is the question on everyone’s mind as the details begin to filter out as to how the baby was mauled by ferrets under the same roof as her mother.

“The ferrets did chew the infant’s nose, top lip and cheek area. They had eaten that area away,” Smythe said. He added, “This is the most horrific thing I’ve seen happen to a child 45 years in this town.”

The parents, who both have developmental disabilities, have temporarily lost custody of all five of their children. The children range in age from one month to five years old and were reportedly living in deplorable conditions. The home was infested with fleas or mites and the only food in the house was a can of cranberries and peanut butter.

Along with the ferrets, there were also six cats, two dogs, and two turtles in the house.

Three different child welfare agencies were investigating the family before this incident. They say investigations continue.

What do you think of this baby being mauled by ferrets? Should these welfare agencies have done something sooner to prevent this kind of horrific incident?