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Fossati P. Challenges in Sheltering Seized Animals from Hoarders from a One Welfare Perspective. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3303. [PMID: 37958058 PMCID: PMC10647514 DOI: 10.3390/ani13213303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal hoarding is a complex issue that, when discovered, frequently necessitates opening shelter doors to many animals. This is due to hoarders' inability to provide even the most basic welfare standards for their animals, resulting in poor welfare conditions that frequently border on mistreatment. These people are frequently unaware of their failure to care for their animals, as well as of the harm that they cause to people around them and the environment. They usually do not care for themselves either. The majority of hoarders have difficult histories, and they all need help getting back on track. When the agencies discover the status quo, the animals are usually seized and taken to shelters, where they face a variety of welfare consequences, beginning with confinement in an unknown environment that is associated with additional risks (e.g., infectious diseases, behavioral deterioration, and distress). Furthermore, the targeted shelters are frequently overcrowded and cannot adequately accommodate the large numbers of animals found in hoarders' environments. The One Welfare approach, which is increasingly being used alongside One Health to work at the intersection of human and animal health and welfare, could be adopted to benefit animals while also addressing the poor states of humans. This concept's depiction of the interconnections between animal welfare, human well-being, and the environment can fit with all the components of the animal-hoarding phenomenon, including the peculiarities of the hoarding environment, as well as those of shelters where animals are often moved. The purpose of this paper is to offer insights into how the One Welfare concept may be critical in tackling all of the interests concerned in these cases and offering solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Fossati
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy
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Stumpf BP, Calácio B, Branco BC, Wilnes B, Soier G, Soares L, Diamante L, Cappi C, Lima MO, Rocha FL, Fontenelle LF, Barbosa IG. Animal Hoarding: a systematic review. REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE PSIQUIATRIA (SAO PAULO, BRAZIL : 1999) 2023; 45. [PMID: 37243784 PMCID: PMC10668307 DOI: 10.47626/1516-4446-2022-3003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Animal hoarding is a special manifestation of Hoarding Disorder, characterized by the accumulation of animals and failure to provide them with minimal care. The main objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the characteristics of animal hoarding with a focus on the profile of affected individuals and accumulation behavior features. METHODS A systematic search of the literature using the electronic databases MEDLINE, SCOPUS and LILACS was conducted until October 2022. We included case series (n ≥ 10) and cross-sectional studies assessing animal hoarding. RESULTS 374 studies were initially retrieved. Most studies were classified as poor quality and significant risk of bias. 538 individuals with animal hoarding were evaluated. These individuals were predominantly middle-aged, unmarried females who lived alone in urban areas. Most residences presented unsanitary conditions. Recidivism rates varied from 13-41%. Cats and dogs were the main hoarded species, mostly acquired through unplanned breeding and found with lack of hygiene; diseases; injuries; and behavioral problems. Animal carcasses were found in up to 60% of the properties. CONCLUSION Animal hoarding is a complex condition that requires urgent attention. More research is necessary to develop effective strategies that can save community resources, improve animal and human welfare, and prevent recidivism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bárbara Perdigão Stumpf
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Investigação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
- Instituto de Previdência dos Servidores do Estado de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | | | | | - Bruno Wilnes
- Faculdade de Medicina, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Lívia Soares
- Faculdade de Medicina, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Carolina Cappi
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, USA
- Departamento de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Monicke O. Lima
- Departamento de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Fábio Lopes Rocha
- Instituto de Previdência dos Servidores do Estado de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Leonardo F. Fontenelle
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Instituto D’OR de Pesquisa e Ensino, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
- Instituto de Psiquatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Izabela Guimarães Barbosa
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Investigação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
- Departamento de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
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Prato-Previde E, Basso Ricci E, Colombo ES. The Complexity of the Human–Animal Bond: Empathy, Attachment and Anthropomorphism in Human–Animal Relationships and Animal Hoarding. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12202835. [PMID: 36290219 PMCID: PMC9597799 DOI: 10.3390/ani12202835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The relationship between humans and animals may have positive effects for both parties, but there are situations in which it has poor or even negative effects for animals or for both humans and animals. Several studies reported the positive effects of this relationship in which both humans and animals obtain physical and psychological benefits from living together in a reciprocated interaction. There is also clear evidence that human–animal relationships may be characterized by different forms and levels of discomfort and suffering for animals and, in some cases, also for people. This work depicts the complex and multifaceted nature of the human–animal relationship; describes the role of empathy, attachment and anthropomorphism in the human–animal bond; shows how these psychological processes are involved in a dysfunctional way in animal hoarding, with highly detrimental effects on animal well-being. Abstract The human–animal relationship is ancient, complex and multifaceted. It may have either positive effects on humans and animals or poor or even negative and detrimental effects on animals or both humans and animals. A large body of literature has investigated the beneficial effects of this relationship in which both human and animals appear to gain physical and psychological benefits from living together in a reciprocated interaction. However, analyzing the literature with a different perspective it clearly emerges that not rarely are human–animal relationships characterized by different forms and levels of discomfort and suffering for animals and, in some cases, also for people. The negative physical and psychological consequences on animals’ well-being may be very nuanced and concealed, but there are situations in which the negative consequences are clear and striking, as in the case of animal violence, abuse or neglect. Empathy, attachment and anthropomorphism are human psychological mechanisms that are considered relevant for positive and healthy relationships with animals, but when dysfunctional or pathological determine physical or psychological suffering, or both, in animals as occurs in animal hoarding. The current work reviews some of the literature on the multifaceted nature of the human–animal relationship; describes the key role of empathy, attachment and anthropomorphism in human–animal relationships; seeks to depict how these psychological processes are distorted and dysfunctional in animal hoarding, with highly detrimental effects on both animal and human well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela Prato-Previde
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Cognitive impairment in hoarding disorder: a systematic review. CNS Spectr 2022; 28:300-312. [PMID: 35477853 DOI: 10.1017/s1092852922000153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In the present study, we aimed to perform a systematic review evaluating the cognitive performance of patients with hoarding disorder (HD) compared with controls. We hypothesized that HD patients would present greater cognitive impairment than controls. METHODS A systematic search of the literature using the electronic databases MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and LILACS was conducted on May 2020, with no date limit. The search terms were "hoarding disorder," "cognition," "neuropsychology," "cognitive impairment," and "cognitive deficit." We included original studies assessing cognitive functioning in patients with HD. RESULTS We retrieved 197 studies initially. Of those, 22 studies were included in the present study. We evaluated 1757 patients who were 41 to 72 years old. All selected studies comprised case-control studies and presented fair quality. Contrary to our hypothesis, HD patients showed impairment only in categorization skills in comparison with controls, particularly at confidence to complete categorization tasks. Regarding attention, episodic memory, working memory, information-processing speed, planning, decision-making, inhibitory control, mental flexibility, language, and visuospatial ability, HD patients did not show impairment when compared with controls. There is a paucity of studies on social cognition in HD patients, although they may show deficits. The impact of emotion in cognition is also understudied in HD patients. CONCLUSION Except for categorization skills, the cognitive performance in HD patients does not seem to be impaired when compared with that in controls. Further work is needed to explore social cognition and the impact of emotion in cognitive performance in HD patients.
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