Forty horses are receiving rehabilitative care after they and more than 500 other animals were seized from an allegedly unlicensed a rescue operation in Raeford, North Carolina.

Brian Long, communications director for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCAGR), said the rescue called The Haven—Friends for Life applied for registration as an animal shelter under North Carolina’s Animal Welfare Act in June. In part, the act assists facilities to comply with the law. In accordance with the measure, the NCAGR’s Animal Welfare Section conducted courtesy and facility inspections of shelter, Long said.

Between June 2015 and this month, the NCAGR investigated several complaints about the shelter, he added, the latest of which took place on Jan. 25.

“Based on the findings of these (facility) inspections and multiple complaint investigations, the Animal Welfare Section on Jan. 26 denied The Haven’s application for registration,” Long said