Editing Animal hoarding (section)

==Characteristics of a hoarder==
An animal hoarder keeps an unusually large number of pets for their premises, and fails to care for them properly. A hoarder is distinguished from an animal [[breeder]], who would have numerous animals as the central component of their business; this distinction can be problematic, however, as some hoarders are former breeders who have ceased selling and caring for their animals, while others will claim to be breeders as a psychological defense mechanism, or in hopes of forestalling intervention. Gary Patronek, director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy at [[Tufts University]], defines hoarding as the "pathological human behavior that involves a compulsive need to obtain and control animals, coupled with a failure to recognize their suffering".<ref name="Patronek2006">{{cite journal |last1=Patronek |first1=Gary J. |title=Animal hoarding: its roots and recognition |journal=Veterinary Medicine |volume=101 |issue=8 |year=2006 |pages=520–530 |url=https://www.dvm360.com/view/animal-hoarding-its-roots-and-recognition }}</ref> According to another study, the distinguishing feature is that a hoarder "fails to provide the animals with adequate food, water, sanitation, and veterinary care, and... is in denial about this inability to provide adequate care."<ref name="Berry et al 2005">{{cite journal |first1=Colin |last1=Berry |first2=Gary |last2=Patronek |first3=Randall |last3=Lockwood |title=Long-Term Outcomes in Animal Hoarding Cases |journal=Animal Law |volume=11 |issue= |year=2005 |pages=167–194 |url=https://www.animallaw.info/article/long-term-outcomes-animal-hoarding-cases }}</ref> Along with other [[compulsive hoarding]] behaviors, it is linked in the [[DSM-IV]] to [[obsessive–compulsive disorder]] and [[obsessive–compulsive personality disorder]].<ref name="mentalhealth">{{cite web|url=http://research.vet.upenn.edu/sheltermedicine/HoardingTaskForce/TheHoardingIssue/tabid/5009/Default.aspx |title=Mental health issues and animal hoarding |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613110502/http://research.vet.upenn.edu/sheltermedicine/HoardingTaskForce/TheHoardingIssue/tabid/5009/Default.aspx |archive-date=2014-06-13 }}</ref> The DSM-5 includes a diagnosis of hoarding disorder.<ref name="DSM5">{{Cite book
| author=American Psychiatric Association
| year=2013
| title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
| edition=Fifth
| publisher=American Psychiatric Publishing
| location=Arlington, VA
| isbn=978-0-89042-555-8
| url-access=registration
| url=https://archive.org/details/diagnosticstatis0005unse
}}</ref>

Alternatively, animal hoarding could be related to [[Behavioral addiction|addiction]], [[dementia]], or even focal [[delusion]].<ref name="Berry et al 2005" />

The number of animals involved alone is not a determinative factor in identifying hoarding. Instead, the issue is the owner's inability to provide care for the animals and the owner's [[denial|refusal]] to acknowledge that both the animals and the household are deteriorating.<ref name="animallaw.info" /> For instance, in one animal hoarding case, 11 cats were seized from a trailer.<ref name="Leek Leiberan">{{cite web | last =Leek Leiberan| first = Margaret H. | title = In the Matter of a Protective Order for Jean Marie Primrose| work =pleading | date = March 2006 | url =http://animallaw.info/pleadings/pb_pdf/pbusorcatchampion_appellants_brief_1.pdf| access-date = 2014-04-08 }}</ref> The deputy police officer testified that the trailer smelled so strongly of feline waste that despite experiencing severe congestion at the time of the investigation, she had a hard time staying in there for more than a few minutes.<ref name="Leek Leiberan" /> The deputy further testified that she could not step anywhere in the trailer without stepping on fresh, old, or smeared fecal matter, and that even the stove and sink were filled with bio-hazardous waste.<ref name="Leek Leiberan" /> Yet, a Canadian woman, who died leaving 100 properly fed, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and groomed cats, was not considered an animal hoarder because her animals were properly cared for.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Avery |first1=Lisa |title=From Helping to Hoarding to Hurting: When the Acts of "Good Samaritans" Become Felony Animal Cruelty |journal=Valparaiso University Law Review |date=2011-04-15 |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=815–858 |url=https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol39/iss4/2/ }}</ref>

The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC) identifies the following characteristics as common to all hoarders:
* Accumulation of numerous animals, which has overwhelmed that person's ability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, and veterinary care;
* Failure to acknowledge the deteriorating condition of the animals (including disease, starvation, and even death) and the household environment (severe overcrowding, very unsanitary conditions); and
* Failure to recognize the negative effect of the collection on their own health and well-being, and on that of other household members.<ref name="animallaw.info">{{cite web |url=http://animallaw.info/articles/ddushoarding.htm |title=Detailed Discussion of Animal Hoarding |last1=Hayes |first1=Victoria |date=May 2010 |website=The Animal Legal and Historical Center |publisher=Michigan State University College of Law |access-date=2014-04-08}}</ref>

[[Compulsive hoarding]] can be characterized as a symptom of [[mental disorder]] rather than deliberate [[animal cruelty|cruelty towards animals]]. Hoarders are deeply [[attachment theory|attached]] to their pets and find it extremely difficult to let the pets go. They typically cannot comprehend that they are harming their pets by failing to provide them with proper care. Hoarders tend to believe that they provide the right amount of care for their pets.<ref name="Flaherty" />