PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary founder Ralph Heath pleaded not guilty on Thursday morning to a violation of probation charge stemming from criminal charges filed by the FWC related to his alleged inhumane treatment of animals.

State Wildlife officers seized dozens of illegal turtles and documented numerous birds living in “deplorable” conditions inside a windowless warehouse that Heath operates on Starkey Rd. in Largo as a kind of private zoo for his own entertainment.

The officers reported animals were living in filth and were without sunlight or fresh water to drink.

Heath was also charged with violating his probation from a previous wildlife bust two years ago when the FWC cited him with 59 violations involving wildlife abuse and neglect. Several sick or injured animals had to be euthanized after that 2014 raid of Heath’s warehouse.

Thursday, Pinellas County Judge Thomas Freeman read the charges against him and Heath pleaded not guilty after telling the judge that his lawyer was attending a funeral.

Heath will have to return in June to face his violation of probation charge as well as the five misdemeanor charges filed by the FWC. Heath did not have any comment as he left the courthouse. He refused to answer any questions posed by 8 On Your Side regarding his treatment of wildlife.

Heath has garnered a worldwide reputation as a wildlife rescuer since the founding of the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in 1971. But, over the years, he has found himself repeatedly tangled in scandal and controversy.

An 8 On Your Side investigation revealed that Heath spent millions of dollars in Sanctuary donations on a 70-foot pleasure yacht equipped with a hot tub that Heath called his “research” vessel. 8 On Your Side also found that employees accused him of stealing cash out of the Sanctuary’s donation boxes for his personal use, and that Heath allowed a photographer to shoot suggestive photos of naked girls as young as 13 for a now-defunct subscription website called trueteenbabes.com. The suggestive photos were taken at the sanctuary, at the warehouse and inside the beach house that the sanctuary purchased for Heath as a residence.

The U.S. Department of Labor prosecuted Heath for failing pay workers a minimum wage and the state prosecuted him for workers compensation fraud.

In recent years the Sanctuary has fallen on hard times as donations decreased dramatically amid all of the scandals surrounding Heath.

The charity-owned pleasure yacht named “Whisker” that Heath once used for adventure cruises through the Caribbean is now decaying in a boat yard in St. Petersburg because the charity can no longer afford to pay for its operation, maintenance and repairs.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON RIGHT NOW: