Daniel Kopulos, who was arrested for animal cruelty in September, was granted another continuance, his third in total, at Norwalk Superior Court on Friday, Jan. 6.

Kopulos is now scheduled to appear in court on Monday, Feb. 6, at 10 a.m. The court is currently awaiting his plea of guilty or not guilty.

Kopulus appeared in court twice last year, on Oct. 24 and Nov. 30. He was granted a continuance in each instance.

He was arrested on Oct. 11, 2016, and charged with animal cruelty under Connecticut state statute 53-247(a).

The cruelty charge was based on the custody and condition of 224 animals that were removed from his home on Newtown Turnpike last September.

Police were called to the scene after a report of a “bad odor” coming from his house. When they arrived, officers found hundreds of exotic birds, reptiles, and snakes — many in poor condition or dead.

Officials called it one of the worst cases of “animal hoarding” they had ever seen. The house had electricity but no running water and was condemned for occupancy by health officials.

Statute 53-247(a), “Cruelty to Animals,” applies to “any person who … overworks, tortures deprives of necessary sustenance, fails to supply any such animal with wholesome air, food, and water, mutilates or cruelly beats or kills or unjustifiably injures any animal.”

A first offense is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, or imprisonment of not more than one year — or both.

Kopulos was the owner of Fauna, an exotic Manhattan pet store, which has since closed.

More than 117 exotic birds taken from the home were transported to Rhode Island Parrot Rescue in Warwick, R.I., a volunteer organization. The group is relying on donations from the public and the town in order to care for the birds.

In October, the Board of Selectmen and finance board approved an appropriation of $21,625 to the rescue group for maintenance and care of the birds.

In December, the selectmen approved an additional supplemental appropriation of $15,000 for Rhode Island Parrot Rescue. The appropriation is pending approval from the finance board.

Weston’s animal control officer, Mark Harper, said there were “wrenches thrown into the gears” regarding financial negotiations with Rhode Island Parrot Rescue since the initial appropriation.

He said negotiations may get “very serious and very complicated, very quickly,” without elaborating on what exactly those words meant.

On the main page of Rhode Island Parrot Rescue’s website, riparrots.org, a message from the group’s director says that Sept. 16, the day the birds were rescued, “was a day that changed the landscape of our rescue for the rest of our year as well as our staff.”

She said in the past three months, many of the birds have gone from “eerily silent” to singing and chatting due to the hard work and patience of the group’s staff and volunteers.