Veterinarians enter the profession prepared to treat patients in a clinical setting, but veterinary school rarely prepares them on how to recognize or respond to the hundreds of animals they’ll encounter that live in hazardous hoarding environments.
Animal hoarding is one of the clearest examples of the human-animal bond going wrong: care that causes harm. It is recognized in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association) as a manifestation of hoarding disorder, and it’s often accompanied by depression, attachment disorders, or obsessive-compulsive traits. Cases can develop quietly and go undetected for years before anyone reports them, and they can involve from fewer than 20 animals to hundreds. The consequence is suboptimal welfare for every animal involved.
When viewed through the Five Domains framework of animal welfare (nutrition, environment, health, behavioral interactions, mental state), hoarding often represents a failure across all five. Furthermore, the impacts are not restricted to just animals. There are environmental impacts as well: ammonia levels can exceed safe human thresholds and require a HAZMAT response, zoonotic and vector risks can follow, and a sudden large intake can overwhelm a municipal shelter. Animal hoarding can quickly escalate into a One Health crisis.
While veterinary professionals aren’t expected to be experts in something as complex as animal hoarding, they may be the first to see manifestations of an animal hoarding situation. Early warning signs that could be seen in practice include:
- A client that presents numerous animals for care
- Care sought across multiple or different veterinary clinics
- Inconsistent animal identification
- Lack of routine preventive care
- A distinct ammonia odor
In our upcoming webinar Dr. Sandra Strong – an AVMA board-certified animal welfare veterinarian with nearly three decades of experience supporting animal welfare and the human-animal bond – will provide a fascinating and empathetic look at this complex condition by discussing the real-world conditions and operational tactics related to animal hoarding cases. Read more & register
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