Animal Hoarding

(Image courtesy of pet-abuse.com)

To most of us, the idea of hoarding animals is bizarre. However, this is something that happens much too often. Watching "Animal Precinct" on the Animal Planet, can show just how often this takes place. According to The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium, the following criteria are used to define animal hoarding:

• More than the typical number of companion aniamls
• Inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and veterinary care, with this neglect often resulting in starvation, illness, and death
• Denial of the inability to provide this minimum care and the impact of that failure on the animals, the household, and human occupants of the dwelling.

While Illinois is the first and only state in the US to define animal hoarding in its state cruelty statute, Vermont and New Mexico have submitted, but not passed, similar legislation. However, in most states it is considered animal cruelty if a person cannot provide the animals with proper food, drink, shelter, sanitary environment, or protection from the weather. Therefore, animal hoarding should fall into the category of animal cruelty. Interestingly enough, people to hoard animals do it so they can "help" the animals...most of the time, the owners truly believe they are benefiting the animals.

This is an issue that is important to me. The dog I rescued was seized by the Humane Society of the Black Hills, South Dakota. The woman in South Dakota had hoarded over 200 dogs, all of which were seized to be adopted or fostered (read more about the story here). When I first rescued Zee, his coat was dull and matted, he had scars all over his body, and his canine incisors were ground down. Needless to say, he was fearful, anxious, and in need of vaccinations and neutering. Today, Zee's coat shines, he's house trained, healthy, and happy. Zee and the other dogs lacked human interaction, love, and care. The thirteen dogs that ended up in Gillette all had the same sad, scared faces.

Something needs to be done to eradicate pet hoarding. The effects of it are horrible, for the animals and the people involved. Please feel free to read more about the subject below.

http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/behind_closed_doors_the_horrors_of_animal_hoarding.html

http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/anwelf.htm#A1