Nothing can overwhelm an animal shelter more thoroughly than the discovery of an animal hoarder. After a search of the hoarder’s property, the police arrest the suspect and remove them from the premises. Each animal victim is then evaluated for injuries, pregnancy and poor health, triaged for care with appropriate intervention, and assessed for behaviors that could prevent adoption. Depending on the state of the investigation along with medical and behavioral considerations, the animals may be placed in foster care.
The burden on the shelter veterinarians is substantial and urgent. Shelter staff must provide medicine, food and other supplies to these victims in addition to the regular shelter population. The shelter must keep track of every animal, its treatment and expenses, and their ultimate fate.
In theory, the hoarder would be tried and convicted of abuse and neglect, and be required to pay restitution. In practice? Not necessarily.
What is An Animal Hoarder?
An animal hoarder is a person who has a large number of animals and
1) fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, and veterinary care;
2) fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals (including disease, starvation or death) and the environment (severe overcrowding, extremely unsanitary conditions); and often,
3) is unaware of the negative effects of the collection on their own health and well-being and on that of other family members. Hoarders may believe they are protecting their animals from the dangers in society. Like other types of hoarding, it is difficult to treat. Animal hoarding is widely viewed as a subset of hoarding, and shares characteristics of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). However, the mental health community does not agree that hoarding is a type of anxiety or OCD, and continues to debate how to define and treat it.
Animal Hoarding and the Law
Seattle Municipal Code does not define hoarding in Title 9. Owners could run afoul of SMC 9.25.081(F), which requires animals be able to move freely during confinement, and that feces be removed promptly per SMC 9.25.082(A). At a minimum, hoarders must buy licenses for every animal they own per SMC 9.25.080. Hoarders could be charged with the cruelty and/or neglect of each animal, a violation of SMC 9.25.081. Each violation charged under this section is a misdemeanor.