Animal hoarding

[nurseangel]

Could someone please explain the rationale behind animal hoarding? In August, animal control seized almost 400 animals (mostly dogs and cats) from a 3 acre residence in a nearby town. The family who had the animals are being charged with 9 counts of felony animal cruelty. I realize every circumstance is different, but is there is some psychological reasoning behind doing something like this? (The woman was quoted as saying that the animals were in poor condition when she took them in and she was just trying to help them.) This situation prompted Operation Noah's Ark, with numerous organizations and individuals pitching in to help care for and find homes for these animals.

 

[addiebee]

Animal hoarding is often considered a mental illness... a kind of obsessive behavior I guess. Where the person is truly convinced the animals are better off with them ... sometimes though, people just get in over their heads & are are too proud or too afraid ask for help...

 

[sarahp]

I got this explained to me earlier this year at a course by Humane Society of US. It is a mental condition, where the people are basically obsessed with rescuing animals - they feel they need to get them out of the situation they are in , whatever it may be.

Once they have the animal though, it's almost as though they forget they have it, and they are fixated on the next animal they want to save. They probably don't even know they have so many animals, or don't realise the extent of it, or still just think they've done good because they are animals they have "saved" without understanding they have put it in a worse situation.

A hoarder needs to get mental help, banning them from owning animals won't do anything.