If you knew somebody casually, perhaps at work or in a class or something, who had upwards of 30 animals in their house and exhibited the classic signs of hoarding - they weren’t spayed or neutered, insists on keeping them, makes up excuses when reasonable methods of fixing the problem are presented - would you report them? Do you think you should?
Say you don’t know them well enough to say, hey, you’ve got a problem, man. And if you call the city, if they did anything about it you know it’d probably be lights out for those animals. What exactly would you do? (Assume that, other than the spay and neuter issue, the animals are having their basic needs met.)
The pet adoption group with which I’m involved has dealt with several animal hoarders. It is very, very difficult to get these people to give up their animals, but there is power in numbers. A representative of a private animal welfare organization can present the hoarder with an ultimatum: give us the critters, or we call the authorities. Unfortunately, many (if not most) of the animals that my group has rescued from hoarders were not in good health, and were euthanized.
Well, part of “having their basic needs met” is not overcrowding (which leads to stress and higher rates of illness) so by definition, animal hoarders are not meeting the basic needs of their animals. Unless these 30 animals are on a farm or something, in which case, hoard away.
I would call animal services. Yes, it will likely result in the killing of a lot of these animals. But I know that I, personally, would rather not live than live in overcrowded, filthy, disease ridden conditions, and so I extend that same kindness to animals - not to mention to the people living in the apartments and houses around them.
Damn right I would report them. The people who do this stuff, as I understand it, are usually mentally ill. Such people should not be caring for so many animals.
I would report them if the animals are not spayed/neutered. 30 is bad enought but the number will quickly go up under those conditions. Try contacting an animal rescue group before contacting the authorities - if she is convinced they will go to good homes she may be more willing to give them up.
I’ve known of at least two people who did this (I don’t know if it was 30 but it was WAY up there, always cats) but they lived outside of city limits. So, I didn’t do anything.
Christ, I hope this hypothetical not-at-all-existing person doesn’t read the Dope! I mean, you just really don’t think that one of those crazy people you see on TV can be the sort of normal-seeming person you work with, so you try to tell yourself, well, maybe he really is trying to find homes for them like he says he is…
You think somewhere like the no-kill shelter or the Animal Protection League or something might be the people to call?
And then, you know, what if you’re wrong? What if it is just a normal person who got a little overwhelmed but it’s a temporary problem? I’d feel bad if I dimed the po po on somebody who’s just trying to help the kitties, you know? Then again, I guess an animal charity would be the best judge of that.
If the animals were causing a nuisance in the neighbourhood I’d probably call the local council. If I suspected that the animals were being neglected then I’d probably call the RSPCA.
If this assumption is correct, which implies that the animals are being kept in good health, it’s none of your business if your acquaintance has 30, 300 or 3000 animals.
Our old neighbor was one of these people. She had many cats. Her house eminated stink for a long time. She was quite with-it in terms of mental health…however, she claimed her nose was faulty, as she couldn’t smell the cats odor. Well in my opinion you don’t need to smell the cats odor to understand their litter box is 15 days overdue. Yuck!
She was eventually told to get rid of the felines - all except 5 of them - and she complied.
You don’t get a “little overwhelmed” by 30 animals all at once. When you don’t find homes for the first litter, and don’t spay and neuter, it isn’t a temporary problem. Unless these animals are the result of contemporary litters, and I’m sure you can see why if THAT is happening, she needs help fast, she can’t wait a few months or the kittens will start having kittens.
A "little overwhelmed temporarily " is when you already have two cats and foster a pregnant momma and she has kittens and until the kittens leave the house you have ten cats.
They aren’t “caring for” them in any sense. What they’re doing is deluding themselves that the critters belong with them and only with them, not in the Big Nasty World (which happens to include all people who really care for animals). It’s a tragic kind of unwitting selfishness.
Someone I know has 6 cats and 7 dogs–although I think at least one dog has died/been put to sleep for health reasons since that time.
She’s not an animal hoarder, and her pets’ lives are fine, but she has way too many animals for the good of her budget and lifestyle. And said budget and lifestyle are constrained by the limitations that having so many pets place on them. It’s an endless cycle.
(She has other issues as well–which are not germaine to this thread).
Part of the reason she has so many animals is that if she gave any of them up, they would probably not be adopted (many are “older” animals, several were abused before they made their way to her) and she doesn’t want any of them to be killed just for the convenience of people.
I respect that, and yet at the same time can’t help thinking that she might make some headway on her other issues if she didn’t have to spend so much time and energy making sure to go home every four or so hours ( to let the dogs out), and various other details.
And I agree with someone upthread that a really sucky life is not better than no life at all.
My SIL was something of a hoarder. The neighbors in her building called the authorities and they issued a couple wimpy tickets, but that was it. Unless there is obvious harm being done to the animals, most places won’t do anything but issue a citation. It’s too bad, but they always have something better to do.
I have a hard time imagining how someone with 30 animals (aside from a farm situation) would be able to care for them properly, even if they were all spayed & neutered.
Small animal & bird cages have to be cleaned weekly, litterboxes cleaned daily (esp with multiple cats!), dogs walked or at the very least let out. Exotic pets require even more care & money. And they all have to be fed & have water at all times.
Wouldn’t this basically be a full time job just to take care of them all? I guess it depends on what kind of animals they are, though.
That is why I recommended an animal rescue group instead of the authoritites. The rescue groups don’t (usually) have any authority to issue a citation but might be able to talk the lady into letting them place some of the animals or at least get them sterilized.