Grandma’s Closet of Skeletons – An Essay on Animal Hoarding By: Carly Czuba

"This paper has been written as a Special Project for the 6th Term Ethics and Jurisprudence Course. The views and opinions of the author do not necessarily represent those of the School of Veterinary Medicine or of St. Georges University."

In photo: Carly

In a 1999 study, it was estimated that there are between 700 to 2,000 new cases of animal hoarding every year in the United States. The perpetual problem of animal hoarding seems to be due to: little research on the subject, misguided interpretations of media reports on hoarding, a poor understanding of the animal abusers themselves, and the alarmingly high rate of repeat offenses. The ethical issue here for the veterinarian, in particular, is whether or not to report suspected cases of animal hoarding based on the evidence at hand, thereby risking both an alienation of the client and a further decrease in the level of care of the animals involved.

Understanding the Method to the Madness
Generally speaking, “it is often the case that hoarders do not intend to be cruel, and yet the condition of the animals they keep is sometimes worse, and on a larger scale, than those hurt by the most deliberate kind of abusers”. An animal hoarder is defined as "someone who accumulates a large number of animals; fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation and veterinary care; and fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals (including disease, starvation and even death) or the environment (severely overcrowded and unsanitary conditions), or the negative impact of the collection on their own health and well-being. Animal hoarders are often found to lack insight into the problematic nature of their behavior and claim to have: an intense love of animals with the feeling that animals are surrogate children, the belief that no one else would or could take care of them, and the fear that the animals would be euthanized. Once acquired by people with hoarding tendencies, the animals receive very little attention to their basic needs yet, paradoxically, cannot be given away. The current theory and opinion of most experts suggests that hoarding is simply a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A common and peculiar characteristic of people who hoard animals is a persistent and powerful belief that they are providing proper care for their animals, despite clear evidence to the contrary.

Our Misguided Perception of Animal Hoarding
The stereotype often portrayed by the media of the animal hoarder is that of a “lonely little old cat lady” who has turned to her cats for affection after the people in her life have abandoned her. While this persona is typical of most hoarders (as found by Patronek’s research), the sympathy these people induce with the help of the media’s misguided portrayal of them, often invokes support for the perpetrator joined by rallies and offerings of help and monetary donations so the hoarder can keep her animals. The misunderstanding of the human aspects of the story seems to be a likely reason why the number of animal hoarding cases continues to be in the thousands every year in the United States. Agencies and individuals (including veterinarians) involved in the investigation of animal hoarding must be proactive in combating such misguided responses, in part, by educating people about the hard facts of animal hoarding. It is important to know the signs of abuse and neglect in the form of hoarding early on and to make a concerted effort at investigating further. No one wants to be the veterinarian who defends the hoarder in court and who was presumably unaware of the true conditions in which the animals were being kept thus impeding legitimate intervention efforts.

The Veterinarian’s Role in the Intervention – An Ethical Obligation
Veterinarians play an important role in the investigation, documentation and resolution of an animal-hoarding case. Recognizing the tell-tale signs of a suspected hoarder in the first place is key to rectifying the situation at hand and helps, in the end, to ensure that the welfare of all animals involved is recognized and treated with respect...

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