Written by Jeff Mackey
A measure of justice has been served in South Carolina, where, following PETA's undercover investigation, the woman who fatally neglected cats at the now-thankfully defunct Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary (SVAS) outside Myrtle Beach was convicted of violating a county animal-care ordinance this morning before Magistrate Margie Bellamy Livingston. Elizabeth Owen, who didn't even bother to show up but instead submitted her plea in writing, was fined $500 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, but both were suspended.
In March 2011, a Horry County judge ordered the seizure of a dog and approximately 240 cats from Owen—many of whom were suffering from painful conditions, such as anal maggots, herpes, tumors, seizures, abdominal abscesses, and severe gum disease. Nearly half of the animals had to be euthanized to alleviate their suffering.
County officials returned the dog and 30 cats to Owen. And then it got worse: County officials did not make good on promises to check on those animals' welfare. Meanwhile, Owen left the state—in violation of her bond, according to a prosecutor—and evidently took those animals with her. Although PETA's investigatory evidence was passed between four attorneys in the 15th Circuit Solicitor's Office, none of them filed state cruelty-to-animals charges against Owen. No other jurisdiction has ever failed to file charges based on such strong evidence against a hoarder still in possession of animals.
As with many so-called "no-kill" operations, SVAS was merely a cover for an animal hoarder. Owen knowingly deprived suffering cats of veterinary care—even refusing offers of free emergency treatment for dying cats—and stated that she would rather let the cats die at the facility than have them taken by officials.
In a disturbing twist, just before most of her animals were seized, Owen sent approximately 25 cats to Caboodle Ranch, another horrific "no-kill" cat "sanctuary," in Florida. Based on evidence gathered in a separate PETA investigation, officials there seized nearly 700 cats and arrested and charged Caboodle's founder and operator, Craig Grant, with felony cruelty to animals.
The recidivism rate for animal hoarders like Owen is virtually 100 percent. The failure of Owen's sentence to prevent her from causing more animals to suffer and die exposes a critical weakness in South Carolina law, which lacks a commonsense provision—found in most other states' laws—prohibiting convicted cruelty offenders from owning or possessing any animals.
Craig Grant and Caboodle Ranch continue to ask the public for donations, including money to pay Grant's legal fees. Ask Florida officials to cancel Caboodle's registration to solicit contributions.
Please join PETA in calling for legislation that would enable all South Carolina courts to bar those convicted of cruelty from having animals.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
A crate on a slab of concrete is no home for a dog. But 21 dogs being held by a Florida hoarder each had only a crate and a dirty piece of bedding inside a concrete-floored kennel to call home. All the dogs were filthy and unaltered and denied regular veterinary care. And their exposed outdoor kennel gave them little protection from the myriad dangers that they faced, including other animals and cruel people.
After PETA was tipped off about the hoarder, we contacted officials with the county's animal services division and urged them to convince her to do the best thing for the dogs: to surrender them. Animal services talked to the hoarder and told us that, as is often the case in hoarding situations, the woman had taken in too many dogs and quickly become overwhelmed.
She agreed to surrender the dogs, who fortunately were all still friendly and in relatively good health, even after living in such deplorable conditions. After some much-needed vet care, grooming, and spaying or neutering, every dog was relocated through animal services and local humane societies and put up for adoption.
Like people who hoard material possessions, animal hoarders usually suffer from mental illness. They fail to provide for animals' basic physical and social needs, and the animals suffer as a result. If you suspect an animal- hoarding case in your area, please alert police and animal control immediately.
Snooki sees the light, more trouble for SeaWorld, and the Oscars are starting to look a lot like a PETA gala. Here's what's going on in PETA's universe this week:
Give us five minutes, and we'll give you all the latest animal rights news on PETA's Tumblr page.
As viewers of the popular reality shows about hoarders can likely confirm, peering inside the homes of people who suffer from the psychological compulsion to collect things has a certain morbid attraction, until you realize the toll it takes on the families of the afflicted—and it's far worse when the "things" they're collecting are living, feeling beings.
Animal hoarding is a serious and growing problem, with hoarders taking on far more animals than they can properly care for. The number of reported cases is on the rise, leading the Animal Legal Defense Fund to call hoarding "the number one animal cruelty crisis facing companion animals in communities throughout the country."
Chillingly, the so-called "no kill" movement propagated by the likes of Nathan Winograd offers cover for these disturbed individuals, many of whom claim to be "rescuing" the animals and attempt to justify the suffering that they cause as a matter of principle. A Los Angeles Times blog post reported that a quarter of the roughly 6,000 new hoarding cases reported each year in the U.S. consist of supposed "shelters" and "rescues."
Animals kept in crates at a “no kill” shelter.
Even when rescues and animal shelters aren't hoarding animals themselves—like the self-proclaimed animal "hospice and rehabilitation center" called "Angel's Gate" and the now-defunct "Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary"—they all too often give away animals to anyone who will take them, including hoarders, to manipulate their euthanasia statistics, regardless of what tragedy that translates into for the animals.
Here are just a few recent examples:
The failure of "no kill" animal shelters and rescues to address the problems facing homeless animals—and often making matters worse—is why PETA remains focused on the solution to the animal overpopulation crisis: creating a no-birth nation. PETA's fleet of mobile low-cost veterinary clinics (responsible for sterilizing 10,564 animals in 2011 and almost 80,000 so far since 2001!) and our advocacy of strong spay-and-neuter legislation are key to keeping animals out of the hands of hoarders and other people who don't have their best interests at heart and guaranteeing that every animal born has a loving, permanent home awaiting him or her.
Volunteer to help your local animal shelter screen potential adopters and placement partners. Animal shelters can contact PETA for placement-partner applications and agreements. Please also be sure to spay or neuter your animal companions and encourage others to do the same—it's the best way to end the need for animal rescues altogether!
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Authorities recently rescued 108 animals from three homes in Duncanville, Texas, where dogs and cats were found stacked in filthy, hair-encrusted, rusty cages and confined to rooms in which urine and feces coated the floors—allegedly up to a foot deep. According to news reports, the door to one room to which dogs were confined was sealed shut with industrial tape and hidden behind a curtain, and the dogs had been deprived of adequate food, water, and care.
The woman responsible for these cats and dogs was apparently busy acquiring unadoptable animals from at least one local animal shelter and running a "rescue" group.
Cases like this are common and remind us how animals suffer when people warehouse homeless dogs and cats for years—with no chance for them to run, play, or feel the grass beneath their feet—as a "solution" to quick and painless euthanasia. Animal shelters that shirk their responsibility by handing over animals to anyone who says that they'll take them—as shelters across the country are doing to make their euthanasia rates look better in the face of pressure from the irresponsible snake-oil salesmen who call themselves "no kill" supporters—share the blame for the suffering of animals at the hands of hoarders posing as "rescuers." Beware, beware, beware!
Avoiding euthanasia at all costs is not humane, and it is not a solution to the animal overpopulation crisis. Until the flood of homeless animals is stopped through spaying and neutering, euthanasia will remain a mercy for unadopted and unadoptable animals. Spaying and neutering are the keys to keeping animals out of shelters—and out of "rescues" that are worse than death.
Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
We may never know how more than a dozen pigeons, crows, seagulls, and other wild birds ended up crammed into filthy cages in a hoarder's home, but when PETA heard about the birds—who were spotted piled on the sidewalk after the hoarder was evicted—our Cruelty Investigations Department took action.
After PETA contacted animal control and alerted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to potential violations of the state cruelty statute and federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, all the birds—some of whom appeared to be sick and suffering from heat exhaustion—were seized, and officers launched an investigation.
Not only is it illegal to possess most wild birds without a permit issued by the USFWS, these animals were also victims of hoarding, a mental illness in which the hoarder compulsively acquires more animals than he or she can properly care for. Animals are often "warehoused" in filthy cages and carriers and denied clean water, adequate food, and veterinary care. Accumulated waste and filth often lead to infections and the spread of parasites and contagious diseases.
If you ever suspect someone may be an animal hoarder, immediately contact law-enforcement officials—following up if necessary to make sure that action is taken. PETA's report on hoarding contains more information about how to protect animals.
Written by PETA
The situation was dire for more than 30 dogs and puppies languishing at the home of a hoarder in rural Georgia. Confined to cramped cages, chained, or simply running loose on the unfenced property, the dogs were filthy and crawling with fleas, and some were losing their hair because of untreated mange. Their owner couldn't even afford to feed them, so most of the dogs had no food. The water they had was dirty, and they were heartbreakingly emaciated. Because of limited resources, none of the dogs had been spayed or neutered either, so they were breeding uncontrollably, and the situation was only going to get worse.
After being alerted to the dogs' plight, PETA contacted PETA member and activist extraordinaire Anna J. Ware, who works closely with the Atlanta Humane Society (AHS). The AHS team leapt into action and departed the very next day, drove for six hours, and rescued every dog on the property.
Now, the happy pups are getting much-needed food, veterinary care, and socialization. And while they wait for the homes and families they deserve, they're being smothered with TLC.
We recently told you about 240 cats who were seized from Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary (SVAS) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as a result of our undercover investigation at the hoarding facility. Many of the cats were too ill to survive, and many more are receiving veterinary care at the county's temporary shelter. PETA was able to bring three of the surviving cats to our Norfolk, Virginia, office, and after much TLC, they are on the mend.
Nudge's name comes from her love of being petted, which she makes known by nudging the nearest available hand. She spent most or all of her approximately 10 years in a cage and is now experiencing her second kittenhood, playing with toys and exploring. Nudge is finally discovering her hobbies, including cuddling up on laps to take naps or watch TV and giving foot massages by kneading the blankets covering wiggling toes.
Olaf is a charming Southern senior gentleman who has overcome much adversity. He was confined to a cage for many years and now can't get enough attention, which he returns with nuzzles. At the time of his rescue, he was covered in scabs from an untreated flea allergy. His tail appears to have been broken in two places, and part of it is missing, along with his left eye. Olaf is now on the mend and is calm and curious. He loves fellow rescue Okay and snuggles with her often.
After a lot of care, Okay looks like she'll be better than OK once she finds her forever family. The 3- to 4-year-old tabby is recovering from severe conjunctivitis and an upper respiratory infection. Her view was limited to the walls outside her cage in a stifling warehouse, and she now cherishes windows and scenery. She purrs almost constantly while she's getting attention and soaks up all the love she can. She's also discovering what it's like to run and play, and she is getting good at hiding in blankets and chasing toys.
All three cats are sweet and affectionate, despite their ordeal. If you live near the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area and would like to be considered as a forever family for Nudge, Olaf, or Okay, please e-mail us for an adoption application—please put in the subject line, "Interested in Adopting SVAS Cats."
Animal hoarding was a dirty secret until hoarders began to appear on our TV screens and showed us how they are compelled to collect so many dogs, cats, or parrots that the animals end up living in cages that are only inches bigger than the animals' own bodies—for their entire lives.
Imagine what it must be like for these animals—stuck in a see-through box, sitting in their own filth, unable to take a step, never comfortable, constantly being yelled at to be quiet, or ignored because their captors are so accustomed to hearing them crying, whining, and working away at the cage bars?
Now, though, the cat's out of the bag, and perhaps more cats will soon be out of hoarders' hands.
But, like a virus, the hoarding impulse has morphed into something even more insidious. Hoarders are trying to take over our animal shelters.
One hundred years ago, New Yorkers stopped stray dogs from being drowned in the Hudson. Forty years ago, humane societies stopped municipalities from killing unwanted dogs and cats by using hot, unfiltered truck exhaust fumes, causing the animals to choke to death.
Today, while some primitive pounds remain, great strides in humane sheltering standards have been made. There are places where behaviorists work to reduce abandoned animals' separation anxiety, groomers cut away matted hair to make animals comfortable and adoptable, and walkers are employed to ensure that no cage paralysis sets in. There are municipal animal shelters that cope with tens of thousands of animals a year yet still provide a comfortable, caring environment.
But "institutional hoarders" now threaten to turn back the clock on these hard-won reforms by bullying authorities into adopting magical-sounding "no-kill" policies that do animals no favors. Inside such hoarding facilities (many of which eventually end up in the news after raids by law enforcement agencies), dogs and cats—sick or healthy, old or young—are reduced to withdrawn and pathetic wrecks because of the crowding and neglect that they endure.
In well-run animal shelters, managers know that you can't store animals as if they were oranges. Tough decisions must be made about who remains on the adoption floor and who goes to sleep forever. As long as people fail to spay and neuter their animal companions, continue to acquire and dispose of animals casually, and buy from breeders and pet shops instead of adopting, there will be far more dogs and cats than there are good homes for them all. Millions more.
Many hoarding facilities leave the dirty work to others, refusing to accept sick, aged, or "unadoptable" animals. In order to avoid euthanasia, they reduce operational hours to prevent drop-offs and adopt animals into bad homes. Severe crowding means that diseases flourish, causing misery and, ironically, often leading to mass euthanasia of all the animals, even those who entered the facility in good health.
In New Jersey recently, a no-kill group that had been in charge of a particular animal shelter left the shelter to another group's management. Their successors had this to say about what they found when they took over:
"The conditions at the shelter are … what's the right word? Abysmal, horrendous, shocking, horrifying, take your pick. It's difficult to put into words what it's like to see 99 dogs crammed into a facility built to comfortably house only 50. What it's like to witness 274 cats in a building meant for only 80. Perhaps the best description is a word we in this field know only [too] well: HOARDER. "The facility is disgusting. … Cats come in healthy, get sick, and die. Kittens drop dead in their cages every day. … Dogs … spend 23 1/2 hours in cages where they can't stand up or turn around, can't stretch their limbs, where they can't get away from their own filth. Their noses are rubbed raw and bloody and many have split pads from getting their feet caught in the wire pop-up cages meant for cats. And this place called itself a no-kill shelter."
"The conditions at the shelter are … what's the right word? Abysmal, horrendous, shocking, horrifying, take your pick. It's difficult to put into words what it's like to see 99 dogs crammed into a facility built to comfortably house only 50. What it's like to witness 274 cats in a building meant for only 80. Perhaps the best description is a word we in this field know only [too] well: HOARDER.
"The facility is disgusting. … Cats come in healthy, get sick, and die. Kittens drop dead in their cages every day. … Dogs … spend 23 1/2 hours in cages where they can't stand up or turn around, can't stretch their limbs, where they can't get away from their own filth. Their noses are rubbed raw and bloody and many have split pads from getting their feet caught in the wire pop-up cages meant for cats. And this place called itself a no-kill shelter."
Giving an animal a quiet, painless, and peaceful death is a sad indictment of our throwaway society, but a life in a cramped, filthy cage is not a "rescue."
Last month in Virginia, PETA ran an ad pleading for homes for 28 cats. Three people responded. In the same area, PETA has spayed or neutered more than 63,000 dogs and cats. Birth prevention never completely staunches the flow of unwanted animals, but "fixing" one dog or cat saves countless more animals from homelessness and misery.
Municipalities need to stand firm. Time and money must go into mandatory spaying and neutering as well as guardianship education—not into warehousing animals. The no-kill movement is harmful to humane sheltering.
Written by Ingrid E. Newkirk
I remember the first hoarding case I ever went on. The woman would never open the door, and her blinds were kept drawn. Standing on her porch, you could catch a whiff of animal waste, but just a whiff. Since she was unwilling to work with local humane officers, there was only one thing left to do: get a warrant to remove the animals from inside her house.
That day is etched in my mind. When the door finally opened, the smell was so overpowering that seasoned police officers―including one who had just returned from Vietnam―called for masks. Fleas leapt up to bite us all over as we threaded our way through the piles of saved newspapers. There were dead cats among the live ones and, down in the basement, a maggot-covered floor, a broken hot-water pipe spewing steam, and feral cats living in the dark in the rafters.
Not every hoarder has reached that stage, but that was not the last house of animal-hoarding horrors that I saw or helped to bust.
Willow is one of nine puppies who were born to a dog living alongside numerous other animals in the dilapidated home of an indigent hoarder we talked to a few months ago. Our cruelty caseworkers coordinated with local officials to provide this woman with enough food to last her until a kind volunteer could arrange to take the animals out of there―to a decent, reputable animal shelter.
But then it was discovered that the pups were suffering from symptoms consistent with parvovirus. Crowded, squalid conditions—the conditions one typically finds in hoarders' homes—are incubators for communicable diseases. Parvo is a common yet preventable illness that causes uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, loss of appetite, and eventual death in most cases. Willow was the only puppy to make it out of the house alive, along with nearly a dozen cats.
Willow's story does have a happy ending. The volunteer who drove her to the animal shelter was so smitten with Willow that she adopted her. As you can see from this picture, Willow is enjoying a great life in her new home!
Is that local "sanctuary" that you heard about run by a hoarder? What about that "no-kill" shelter on the outskirts of town? Hopefully not! There are lots of good facilities, for sure. But please be vigilant, because if no one investigates, animals can suffer greatly. Hoarding is a recognized symptom of a particular type of mental illness, which, if left unchecked, leads to animal suffering—and often a slow, miserable death for the animals involved. Hoarders "collect" animals even when they can't care for the ones they already have. They ignore or deny the increasingly substandard (and eventually appalling) living conditions that invariably arise and commonly refuse to seek veterinary care for sick or injured animals. They also often refuse to euthanize animals or take them to open-admission animal shelters—which is why so-called "no-kill sanctuaries" often wind up being a "front" for hoarders.
For animals who are suffering at the hands of hoarders, there is a fate worse than death—a fate that Willow escaped. I know that on my first hoarding case, we were able to rescue dozens of kittens from that horrid home, and I wept to think of how long they had lived like that and for the dozens more who had just crawled under the furniture and perished. To learn more about hoarding and what you can do if you know of a hoarder in your area, please read our factsheet.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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