Verified by 
The traditional approach to animal hoarding involves dealing with the law-and-order issues, but hoarders often get new animals and begin to hoard again. New research published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science details the successes of a broader approach in Wake County, North Carolina.
The report says,
“Animal hoarding is the result of a human mental health disease; removing the animals addresses the end result but does not treat the root cause. Because each animal hoarding case is unique, a tailored approach is warranted and can produce favorable outcomes for the animals and people involved. In addition, by using a stepwise collaborative approach, the financial burden of cases is spread across organizations and time.”
Animal hoarding is a serious issue with consequences for the health and welfare of the animals, and the health of the person involved. It is recognized as a mental health disorder in the DSM-5.
Animal hoarders have more animals than they can properly care for but don’t recognize the problem and typically continue to acquire more animals. While cats are the most commonly hoarded animal, dogs and other animals can be hoarded as well.
Guidelines suggest that staff in animal shelters need to spend a minimum of 15 minutes per animal per day to provide basic care. So if a person acquires 20 animals, they need to spend more than 5 hours a day in basic animal care. It’s easy to see that providing that care is very challenging for one person.
When animals are hoarded, their health tends to suffer. In particular, hoarded animals may have parasites, not be fed properly, and have infectious diseases that are not treated. Failure to clean up animal waste quickly makes for a terrible environment, and levels of ammonia in the air from urine can be very high.
The animals may be stressed from having to live with so many other animals in close quarters, and have behavior problems. People who hoard animals may sometimes also hoard objects, and their property can be seriously damaged. Animal hoarding may also be linked to child abuse and/or elder abuse.
There are different types of animal hoarders, according to the paper. Some are overwhelmed caregivers, who start out with a manageable situation, but as the animals increase in number, the situation becomes problematic. This kind of hoarder is the most likely to accept help.
Rescue hoarders are actively looking for more animals to "save" and may begin as a rescue before mental health issues mean that it becomes a hoarding situation. The third type is known as an exploiter hoarder and is someone who lacks empathy and plans to avoid the law, so these cases are especially challenging.
In the beginning, the new approach in Wake County involved reaching out within the community to find out the resources available and the people who should be involved. As a result, a multidisciplinary team is now available to respond to cases of animal hoarding. The team includes people who were already working within the community. For example, Wake County already had a mobile crisis team that can provide counseling, and so they are now a part of the response to hoarding situations.
An animal control officer, perhaps with a veterinarian, visits the home where hoarding has been reported. They then come up with a plan in conjunction with the person, who ideally will agree to voluntarily sign over the animals. If not, law enforcement is required.
A plan is made to bring in the animals over time (rather than all at once, which might overwhelm local shelters). One advantage of the team having a planning meeting in advance is that they can arrange for the Fire Department’s HAZMAT team to be there if needed (e.g., due to a build-up of ammonia). This means local journalists are no longer tipped off to these cases by hearing a call go out on the radio, so there is more privacy for the person involved.
A plan is also made for how many animals will be allowed to remain in the home and the care that will be provided for them. It is believed that if a small number of animals are allowed to remain, the person is less likely to start to acquire more animals. The agreement on care is a contract between animal control and the person that says, for example, which vaccines the pets should have and how many litter boxes cats need. The approach to what animals need is based on the Five Freedoms.
The animal control officer regularly visits the property as the plan is carried out, which also lets them keep the person informed about how animals already surrendered are doing—for example, if they had to be euthanized or if they are now in a new home. This may help the person stick to the plan.
The scientists write,
“Animal hoarding is a complex disorder, and affected individuals exhibit varying degrees of psychological impairment and symptomatology. As such, integrated approaches to planning intervention strategies and remediation are likely to provide the best outcomes for impacted animals, hoarders, and the community. The earlier animal agencies intervene in animal hoarding cases, the better.”
The study reports on the six cases of animal hoarding that the team responded to in 2015. These cases involved a total of 100 animals, of which 92 were subsequently adopted into new homes. The remaining 8 had to be euthanized because of several medical and/or behavioral issues. As might be expected, the cases that involved overwhelmed caregivers had the best outcomes.
Although more research is needed, these results suggest that an integrated approach to animal hoarding cases can be very successful.
References
Strong, S., Federico, J., Banks, R., & Williams, C. (2019). A collaborative model for managing animal hoarding cases. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 22(3), 267-278.
