Animal hoarders are people who collect animals. They’re usually people who believe they are helping unwanted animals have a better life. They may also believe they’re helping the environment by keeping the animal world healthy.
This simply is not the case. Although these people are usually very kind and very active in environmental and animal causes, they are unaware of the suffering they may be causing. Very few people can afford to take proper care of hundreds of animals. The environment that the animals live in is usually filthy. It’s simply too much for the person to manage.
They may hoard because they have underlying psychological issues. The person may feel unloved or unwanted. They may be projecting their desire to be valued onto helpless animals. These are the people who pick up every animal they see on the road. Even if that animal has just escaped its own backyard! They view the unfortunate owner as cruel because there was an unknown hole in a fence.
These people take on litters of puppies and kittens with the intention of finding them homes, only to discover no one wants them. They keep the litter. At some point the animal population takes over the home. The filth is unmanageable. The animals become unhealthy because they are forced to live in close quarters in their own waste. Food quality decreases because of expense. Shots and vet visits decrease. The hoarder may try to be his own vet. The remedies may not work.
When animal hoarders are found out, the authorities almost always say that the people are good to their pets. They just don’t have the resources to take proper care of them.
Ironically, animal hoarders are usually angry with the “system.” They are champions of the environment, and they usually distrust people to some extent. Animals become their closest friends. They don’t see their own environment as polluted and unhealthy.