Animal hoarding involves the accumulation of large numbers of animals without adequate care, representing one of the most severe forms of companion animal neglect encountered by welfare inspectors.
Animal hoarding creates some of the worst welfare conditions encountered outside commercial factory farming. Animals typically suffer from overcrowding, starvation, untreated injuries and disease, and psychological distress from living among decaying animals. The complexity of these cases lies in the nature of the hoarder — usually a person with genuine but distorted attachment to animals who is also often experiencing serious mental health challenges. Effective intervention requires coordination between animal welfare, mental health and social services, with long-term follow-up to prevent reoffending, which occurs in over 100% of cases without treatment.