Is animal hoarding illegal

Answer 1

Animal hoarding is the act of collecting or taking in a large amount of animals. Often these animals are kept in subpar living conditions. This situation is usually related to individuals with mental disorders when the collecting of animals has become almost obsessive. Their intentions are often good and they do not realize they are harming the animals. Animal hoarding is mostly done by mentally disabled people. They don't know that what they are doing is wrong. Most of the animals are ungroomed, not neutered, and live in horrid conditions. The owners usually can't afford to have the animals neutered, so the animals breed continuously. Most of the time the animals get sick from no veterinary care and living in poor conditions. In B.C. where I am from, the situation of animal hording is getting worse all the time. Most of the time it's breeders who get in over their heads raising pure breds, and continue breeding the animals even when no buyers are immediately available. People, when they are lonely, they tend to use animals to make the lonliness go away. So they collect animals to feel comforted. So they keep animals and the collection gets bigger. Then the house is filled with animals, which is known as hoarding.

Answer 2

Some locations have laws regulating the number of specific animals allowed per dwelling unit, but not all do, so the answer is "it depends on where you are." Many locations have exemptions for e.g. bona fide animal shelters where it's expected that there may be a large number of animals but where they are being properly cared for by people specifically trained to give that care.

Since "hoarding" implies a lower standard of care, it's probable that it's illegal under animal cruelty laws in most locations as well, even in the absence of a specific limit on the number of animals permitted.

Answer 3

More accurately it is a sign or symptom of mental illness than a mental illness itself