Volunteers who take in more abandoned pets than they can handle are part of bigger problem

Volunteers who take in crowds of abandoned pets are only one of many problems facing welfare workers.

Volunteers who take in more abandoned pets than they can handle are just part of a bigger problem, say experts.

DUBAI // More animal hoarders are being reported to the authorities as the number of abandoned pets increases.

According to animal welfare workers, many hoarders are well-intentioned volunteers who agree to be a foster carer for a few cats or dogs. But they then start taking in stray animals because of the lack of animal shelters. However, the animals’ health eventually suffer.

Citing a recent case, Debbie Lawson of the Middle East Animal Foundation said 200 cats were living in such filthy conditions in a villa that some had “eyes rotted in their heads”.

“They were lying in piles,” she said.

The increasing number of animal hoarders is the result of animal abandonment, overburdened shelters and the lack of them, according to Ms Lawson.

“The responsibly of sheltering and rescuing sick and injured animals is falling squarely on the shoulder of a few volunteers, which can create animal hoarders,” she said.

“Many are well-intentioned, but we believe it is a disorder. The end result is that people are hoarding up to hundreds of animals in their homes.”

The vast majority of the animals hoarded are cats.

“It is impossible to look after this number of animals in a proper way,” said Ms Lawson. “Everything suffers – their health regime and the increase of the spread of disease.”

If many animals are kept in close proximity, a pack mentality can develop and lead to fights.

That leaves animals with festering wounds, while others will suffer from malnutrition from not having access to food.

“The end result is that cats will die,” said Ms Lawson.

Lesley Muncey, the chairwoman of Feline Friends, has been involved in helping to rehome animals that have been kept under one roof with more than 100 others.

“Hoarding is a problem, big time. It is a growing problem because people can’t say no,” she said.

“Unfortunately, we are now breeding more hoarders because there is no control.

“They have to be reported and caught here but a lot of people are really scared of reporting things.”

Ms Muncey said animal hoarding was not necessarily about the number of animals but the conditions they were kept in.

“Are they kept clean? Are they given access to the vet if they get sick? That is what amounts to a hoarder,” she said.