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PETA Publishes Groundbreaking Report on Animal Hoarding

PETA Publishes Groundbreaking Report On Animal Hoarding Animal hoarders exist in virtually every community. They were formerly referred to as “collectors” and thought of as well-intentioned people who were overwhelmed by the animal overpopulation crisis.

New information has shown that the problem is far more serious than having too big a heart. Because the hoarding of animals is often misunderstood, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and judges frequently mishandle cases—or don’t handle them at all—leaving animals in situations that can only be described as nightmarish. The consequences for hoarders, their human dependents, animals, and the community are serious, and they may even be fatal for animals.

Only with an understanding of the complexities of hoarding—and all that’s at stake for humans and animals when it occurs—can an effective, lasting intervention be implemented to ensure the safety and welfare of all involved.

In this new 12-page report, “Animal Hoarders: Behavior, Consequences, and Appropriate Official Response,” PETA gives the public and officials at all levels the fullest understanding of this behavior yet, with the hope of helping to craft and promote the necessary interventions.

The booklet, which is complete with startling images of animals who have suffered and died at the hands of hoarders, includes sections such as the following:

“Animal Hoarding Is Cruelty to Animals”: a look at hoarders’ behavior and what types of people hoard which species of animals in which settings
“Hoarding Cases: Human and Animal Lives in Jeopardy”: a review of the dangerous implications of hoarding for animals, communities, the hoarder, and his or her family
“Recidivism Among Animal Hoarders”: details on hoarders’ nearly guaranteed slip back into their illnesses and criminal acts if denied appropriate help and intervention
“Your Response: Ensuring the Lasting Welfare of All Involved”: a section designed for prosecutors and judges that explains how to handle hoarders who have been charged with crimes
“Model Sentences for Hoarders”: a list of appropriate, precedent-setting sentences imposed on some of today’s cruelest and most dangerous convicted hoarders

Please make frequent use of this original, landmark literature—print this copy or order one from our Literature Department. None of the text is copyrighted, and you are encouraged to use it in any way that you wish, including in letters to the editor of your local newspaper following stories about hoarders, correspondence with your local officials about cases that require their attention, cases currently in the courts, and more.

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