Animal hoarding, mental illness, and competency to care

Animal hoarding is unlike other forms of cruelty because intent to harm animals is lacking, and the hoarder may be at risk of significant harm via self-neglect. Hoarders exhibit traits (e.g., poor insight, impulsivity, emotional instability, chaotic internal and external lives, inaccurate perceptions, dissociation) that are highly consistent with Axis II (personality) disorders and which create significant barriers to intervention. Hoarders' acceptance of self-neglect is a further obstacle to providing proper attention to animals' needs. The egocentric psychopathology may be severe enough to pose a risk to both people and animals, but this potential is largely unappreciated by laypersons. Unfortunately, competency to care for animals can be considerably impaired before a situation is actionable under the cruelty statutes, resulting in avoidable suffering. With respect to etiology, neglectful parenting or physical or psychological trauma during childhood is commonly reported by hoarders. This may predispose to disordered attachment styles and attempts at self-reparative relationships with animals through compulsive caregiving in adulthood. When caregiving becomes the hoarder's source of identity, safety, and self-esteem, the interests of the person begin to overshadow any semblance of altruism. Threat of prosecution rarely outweighs the emotional relief a hoarder experiences through their deliberate pursuit of the animal hoarding compulsion. When prosecution occurs, laws based on the notion of animals as property contain inherent contradictions because animals are both victims and evidence of a crime. The latter constraint often victimizes animals again by limiting options for care and placement. Better options are needed for both prevention and intervention.