Animal hoarding involves keeping animals in numbers that exceed the capacity to provide adequate care, creating severe welfare suffering, and is linked to complex mental health and social circumstances that require specialist multi-agency responses.
Animal hoarding creates welfare conditions as severe as any deliberate cruelty. Animals suffer chronic malnutrition, infectious disease spreading through overcrowded conditions, untreated injuries, and psychological deprivation. The welfare trajectory is typically progressive, with conditions deteriorating over time. Confiscation without mental health support for the hoarder typically results in reacquisition. Animal welfare responses to hoarding must therefore integrate veterinary care for animals with social care for the hoarder to achieve lasting welfare improvement for the animals involved.