Severed animal ears and other parts discovered in freezer at historic ice cream store

The owner of a historic ice cream store in Jackson, Mississippi, says he was bewildered after finding gruesome animal body parts in a freezer at his business.

The Jackson County Animal Shelter and Animal Control are investigating the bizarre animal parts found in the back garage of The Parlour ice cream shop on Sunday.

'I don’t know what she was using it for, whether it was taxidermy purposes, I don’t know.'

Scott Pienta, the store's owner, told MLive that his son and the shop's general manager were tipped off about something in the freezer, which was reportedly left behind by the previous owner.

When they opened the freezer, they found about five dead adult dogs, six dead puppies, and bags with the severed animal ears.

Pienta said he had taken over the business in March and had since told the previous owner to remove the freezer along with other items in the garage, but the owner did not comply.

“My frustration has been growing, and now it reached its limit,” he said.

Officers from the Jackson County Animal Control collected the animal body parts after Pienta instructed his general manager to call authorities.

Jackson County Animal Shelter Director Lydia Sattler said they would release more details after they get further along in their investigation.

“I don’t know what she was using it for, whether it was taxidermy purposes, I don’t know,” Pienta continued. “The frustration is for her not to get these things and leave these animals at my place of business knowing they were in there.”

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Photo by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

He went on to say that he planned to renovate the shop and bring it to its former glory. Pienta also said that the community has been showing up to let him know he has their support.

"All the people that have been coming in this morning, everyone has been coming in with support," he told WILX-TV.

MLive said the previous owner did not respond to a request for comment.

Scenes from the ice cream parlor can be viewed on the news report from WILX on YouTube.

The Parlour was first established nearly 100 years ago and is a favorite place to visit in Jackson, according to local accounts.

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