AND YOU HAVE WAY TOO MANY HOARDERS COMFORTABLY LIVING AND HOARDING IN YOUR COMMUNITY!!!! STOP WITH THE EXCUSES AND START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT! READ MORE ABOUT HOARDING…

Animal Hoarding is one of the worst, yet least understood, forms of animal cruelty. Hoarding affects an estimated 250,000 animals per year in communities nationwide. Isolated communities such as Kern County, California, seems to ignore they have a problem with hoarders in their community. Hoarders keep abnormally large numbers of animals for whom they do not provide adequate basic care. Their animal victims typically suffer horribly as a result, and, unlike most other forms of companion animal cruelty, their misery can go on for years. The animals generally show signs of abuse such as emaciation, open sores, untreated cancers, parasites, rotting teeth and eye disease; however, they do not get taken out of their filthy, crowded and chaotic environments to receive veterinary care. We are not yet sure what motivates hoarders. We do know that 72 percent of hoarders are women and that the most common animal victims are cats, followed by dogs. Most hoarders believe that they are saving animals who would otherwise be killed and see themselves as being persecuted by coldhearted city officials or busybodies. Hoarders are not able to see the suffering that they cause. In addition to the horrific animal cruelty involved, hoarding creates such highly unsanitary conditions that the properties of hoarders, contaminated with fecal matter and urine, are often condemned. What’s more, a single hoarding case involving dozens if not hundreds of animals can bankrupt a local humane society, and the nuisance and cost to local authorities is a major concern. But it is not impossible to nab a hoarder. The Animal Legal Defense Fund recently won an unprecedented court victory in Sanford, N.C., where a unique state law allows any person or organization to sue an animal abuser. In April 2005, a trial judge granted an injunction allowing ALDF and county authorities to remove more than 300 diseased, neglected and abused dogs from the home of a local couple. ALDF was granted custody of the animals, and the hoarders were also found guilty of animal cruelty charges. Almost all of the dogs have been placed into loving foster homes, while the cases are on appeal. Hoarding is very difficult to prevent, but it can be stopped. Local officials need to recognize the basic signs of hoarding. In the short term, neglected and abused animals should be removed from a hoarder’s property; over the long term, animal protection laws need to be modified in order to give law enforcement officials the tools they need to charge and convict hoarders. The recidivism rate for hoarders is almost 100 percent for repeat offenders. Thus, the only realistic solution for stopping their behavior is to prevent them from owning animals. For more information on animal hoarding and legal solutions, contact the ALDF.