Call for taskforce to help hoarders

KATE HAGAN

AUSTRALIA needs a taskforce on compulsive hoarding, an under-recognised mental illness that ageing, mental health and council workers are ill equipped to deal with, experts say.

Swinburne University professor of psychology Michael Kyrios, who will chair a panel discussion on the topic at a conference this week, said a multidisciplinary approach was needed to help people with the disabling condition who hoarded ''anything and everything''.

He said studies had shown ''a strong association between hoarding and getting older'', and the average age of hoarders was 55. About 2-4 per cent of the population probably suffered the condition, but skills were lacking in the mental health and community sectors on how to help them..." More

Nurses avoid squalid homes

By TORY SPHERD

REVOLTING squalor is stopping some of the state's most vulnerable people receiving crucial help.

Royal District Nursing Service staff avoid about 30 homes a year because of hygiene problems at the property, such as dead animals, decaying food and rubbish, and urine and faeces.

RDNS staff are also faced with potentially violent patients who may refuse to lock away firearms, weapons or aggressive dogs.

Chief executive officer Dale Cleaver said staff would always try to find another way to help people.

"Our nurses have developed skills to deal with challenging environments and behaviours," he said.

"We look for the most effective care environment for our clients whenever possible. However, we need to prioritise the health and safety of our nurses and care workers entering that home."..." More

Councils will help serial hoarders

COUNCILS - sick of cleaning up after serial hoarders - are sending in counsellors to help problem residents.

Nearly 200 hoarders across the Sydney basin are well known to authorities; Waverley Council has sent cleaners to a single Bondi house 14 times in 17 years and Willoughby Council has 12 problem properties.

Councils are frustrated at having to repeatedly clean out yards and houses of people living in waist-deep rubbish.

They can force the issue when nests of snakes, rats and cockroaches appear - but six months later the filth is back, outraging neighbours and creating a general health hazard.

Willoughby City Council has engaged Macquarie University to run a clinical study to treat people with severe hoarding issues.

Willoughby Mayor Pat Reilly said the program would give therapy to severe hoarders..." More

Truth about cats and dogs: 250,000 killed every year

RACHEL BROWNE

MORE than a quarter of a million healthy cats and dogs are destroyed in Australia every year because there are not enough homes for them.

Behind the numbers there is a vicious debate about the oversupply of animals and what can be done to tackle the problem.

On one side, animal welfare groups backed by Sydney lord mayor and NSW independent MP Clover Moore blame commercial breeders for breeding too many animals and pet shops for supplying them to an unsuspecting public.

On the other side, pet shops say they are operating within ethical guidelines and buy their animals from reputable breeders rather than so-called puppy and kitten farmers....

...Australian Veterinary Association president Mark Lawrie agrees the lack of regulation on breeding makes it problematic to enforce legislation. ''It's hard to know the extent of the problem of indiscriminate breeding. It's hard to get any reliable statistics.''

Dr Lawrie claims that animal lovers who accumulate large numbers of pets contribute more to over-population than farmers. ''I actually think animal hoarding is a bigger problem in terms of indiscriminate breeding. That's a complex issue because it involves mental health.''

But welfare groups maintain there are hundreds of puppy and kitten farms in Australia, and groups such as the RSPCA and local councils are not doing enough to stamp it out...." More

Trash or treasure? Hoarders pain their neighbours

When his garage was filled with bargains bought at garage sales and charity shops Sydney householder Joe Vieira shifted his car onto the street and used his carport for storing what to him was treasure and to others was trash. Hoarding didn't wreck his marriage - alcoholism got in first - but his wife was certainly glad to leave a home that grew to resemble a junk yard.

Australian psychologist David Foxley has studied compulsive accumulation and knows the tell-tale signs.

"The point where it starts to become a worry is when the house can no longer be used as a home - it starts to become a storage facility," the Newcastle University researcher said. "When this has been building up for years or even decades, it's not an easy thing to treat."

Vieira's house went with his divorce settlement and the new owners got rid of the polo sticks, car doors, woodworking tools, empty bottles and all the thousands of other almost worthless items he had kept for decades.

"A normal collector might specialize in one or two areas and will want to display their collections, whereas a hoarder will save a wide variety of things," Foxley said.

Sydney's most famous hoarders of rubbish are the Bobolas family in upmarket Bondi.

Late last year the local council sent in four men with a bulldozer, a digger and a dump truck to take away their rubbish.

Sally Betts, the mayor of Waverley Council, said the 3-day operation had cost taxpayers 30,000 Australian dollars (27,000 US dollars).

It was the 14th Waverley-funded clean-up and, with attendant court cases, brought the cost of dealing with the Bobolas' obsession to 350,000 Australian dollars.

Family members have been in and out of court for 26 years to defend their right to turn a Bondi residence into a rubbish dump with attached accommodation.

"A lot of residents are sympathetic to us," one Bobolas sister said of her mother Mary's addiction to junk. "It's a stress-related psychological problem for her and it's no different to an alcoholic who drinks."

Those sympathetic are unlikely to be fellow residents of Bondi's Boonara Avenue..." Link

Court bans Falls Creek dog owner from having any animals

A Falls Creek man has been ordered to pay $155,000 in fines and costs, and banned from owning animals for 10 years, for multiple counts of animal cruelty.

Dario (David) Baena failed to appear in Nowra Local Court yesterday and was convicted in his absence.

He was charged in October last year after RSPCA inspectors found almost 200 dogs living in putrid conditions, with many in very poor physical state.

A number of dead puppies were found; some tied together with wire had died of strangulation.

The inspectors seized 185 dogs and charged Baena with a number of offences, including three counts of aggravated animal cruelty and eight counts of committing an act of animal cruelty.

Baena pleaded guilty in February, but 10 more charges were laid in May after a second RSPCA visit.

The new charges included two counts of failing to comply with the Animal Welfare Code of Practice, and one count each of failing to exercise reasonable care, failing to provide proper and sufficient food, and committing an act of animal cruelty.

Magistrate Doug Dick found Baena guilty of all 10 additional charges, saying it was his responsibility to protect animals.

Baena was fined a total of $20,350 and ordered to pay costs of $134,962.

Most of the fine was awarded to RSPCA NSW.

RSPCA NSW chief inspector David O'Shannessy said the conviction was pleasing and was a reminder to the community that housing animals in such deplorable conditions was unacceptable and would not be tolerated..." More

Squalor and hoarding – a secret epidemic in the spotlight

The first National Squalor Conference, being held in Sydney this week, aims to highlight the growing number of people living in squalor in Australia.

The conference will examine the links between squalor, hoarding, mental health issues and social isolation.

Confronting statistics collected by a number of agencies in relation to people living with compulsive hoarding and severe domestic squalor, emphasise the number of Australians living in squalor is far greater than previously thought.

Over 1 in 1,000 elderly people are thought to live in severe domestic squalor and of course it doesn’t just affect the elderly. Catholic Community Services has been working with a variety of agencies, including the RSPCA and the Fire Brigade, to address the complex issues of hoarding and squalor.

Catholic Community Services launched the pilot Severe Domestic Squalor project in Sydney 12 months ago to provide a central point of coordination for services. Since that time, the project has received 218 referrals from across Sydney...

...RSPCA NSW estimates that there are approximately 700 animal hoarders in NSW, owning an average of 30 animals each. There are potentially around 20,000 animals in the hands of animal hoarders in NSW alone. And the RSPCA sees approximately 200 new cases every year.

Animal hoarding results in extreme suffering, affecting large numbers of animals for prolonged periods. The extent of abuse, neglect and social deprivation is such that euthanasia is often the only practical option for many of the animals rescued from these situations,” says RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman.

Last year over 130 small dogs were seized from a property in the south of the state. Large seizures like this place enormous emotional and financial strain on the RSPCA.” Likewise, compulsive hoarding has become a huge concern for the Fire Brigade. “Hoarding represents an increased risk to the occupant, neighbours and responding firefighters in a fire..." More

Hoarding warning after Surrey Hills blaze

TWO Surrey Hills sisters were lucky to escape with their lives after neighbours saved them from a house fire.

The elderly sisters were treated for burns and smoke inhalation after the blaze ripped through their cluttered Kent Rd house.

MFB Burwood station officer Mike Convery said the house was stocked floor to ceiling with bags full of clothes, newspapers and debris.

“It increases the fire load and presents a massive risk, especially for the elderly,” he said. “It’s difficult for firefighters to get in and can be awkward to get anyone out.”

Emergency crews were called to the burning house on Saturday, October 3, in the early hours of the morning. Mr Convery said the women, both in their 80s, had been saved by smoke detectors and praised quick-thinking neighbours for helping get them out alive..." More

Melbourne firefighters call for action on hoarding

BY SHAUN TURTON

ONE in four people killed in accidental house fires in Melbourne since 2000 has been a “compulsive hoarder”.

A new report shows compulsive hoarding, a mental health condition linked to the collection of large quantities of objects or animals, led to at least 48 serious house fires in Melbourne from 2000 to the start of this year.

And Metropolitan Fire Brigade community ageing strategist Julie Harris said another 16 “hoarding fires” had occurred since the report was finished.

Eleven people, all aged over 50, have been killed in hoarding fires since 2000 - representing about a quarter of deaths in accidental house fires.

The MFB report, An Analysis of Fire Incidents Involving Hoarding Households, found hoarding fires happened right across Melbourne and had a great impact on firefighting resources...

...The RSPCA has also taken a lead role in pushing for more government leadership on the issue.

RSPCA Victoria senior inspector Ali Jalbert said animal hoarding led to appalling conditions for animals.

She said many agencies encountered the problem, but more needed to be done to unify their approach. Clinical psychologist and hoarding expert Chris Mogan said the condition was “unrecognised and untreated”.

“It’s a psychological condition based on a different relationship with things – hoarders think differently about objects and possessions and sometimes animals,” he said.

The behaviour has been linked to conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, Dr Mogan said.

“We don’t really know exactly what causes it; there are some factors like personality factors, that need to hang on to everything,” he said..." More

Link: An Analysis of Fire Incidents Involving Hoarding Households

Picture: Mitch Bear

SPCA seizes 33 dogs from Sydney apartment, dwelling

NANCY KING

SYDNEY — The SPCA has seized more than 30 dogs in two connected incidents in Sydney, but no charges are expected because it was a case of hoarding where the dogs were in good condition.

Patsy Rose, manager of Cape Breton SPCA said they received a call about an apartment building in the central Sydney area. On Sept. 1, when inspectors entered the apartment, they donned masks for their own protection, due to the odour of feces and urine, and seized 13 dogs. They subsequently returned two days later to a nearby dwelling, part of the same property, removing another 20 dogs. The same people were involved in both cases, Rose said.

She declined to say on what street the seizures occurred.

The dogs were in good condition, she said, although one dog was euthanized due to health conditions associated with its advanced age.

“It was just that the people had way too many dogs,” she said. “A lot of people, we call them hoarders, they get these animals then they get overwhelmed with them and then they don’t know what to do with them ... If (the dogs) had been in bad conditions, they were thin and there were problems with them, they would have been charged with cruelty to animals.”
Rose said she doesn’t know how long the situation had been ongoing. She added the people involved are not facing charges.

Seventeen dogs were transported to the Halifax SPCA to be put up for adoption, while a number remain at the local location also available for adoption..." More

Firefighters urge people not to hoard items

ALMOST one in four people killed in house fires in Melbourne since 2000 crammed their homes by hoarding items, new figures show.

The hoarders were unwittingly putting their lives and property at increased risk during home fires, said the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB), Country Fire Authority (CFA) and RACV Insurance in a statement.

Most of the hoarders were aged over 50.

There was a spate of blazes last month involving people who had hoarded hundreds or thousands of items into their houses.

In one case, on June 25, a man in his 60s died when a fire broke out in his Ascot Vale home and he became trapped because the house was crammed with boxes and piles of rubbish blocking movement.

Firefighters had trouble finding his body under piles of rubbish in the house.

MFB community ageing strategist Julie Harris said hoarded material such as clothing and newspapers were potential sources of ignition and made it difficult for occupants to escape.

"While an average house fire requires about seven firefighters, a fire in a hoarding household requires about 17 firefighters to do the job," she said.

"In addition, the damage bill increases from $12,500 to $100,000 on average."

The hoarding households risked neighbours and firefighters' safety and hoarders often suffered health, safety and welfare problems, the MFB said..."  More

Alarm over pet abuse

Eleni Hale

AN increase in the number of people keeping excessive numbers of animals in their homes and garages has shocked authorities.

Some of the hoarders are even keeping the bones of dead pets.

In the past year, about 200 hoarding cases have been uncovered nationally.

In many cases the animals never leave the house or are kept in cages stacked to the ceiling, resulting in a build-up of faeces and carcasses.

Recent Victorian cases include:

A FAIRFIELD woman kept nearly 100 birds in stacked cages in her one-bedroom flat. There was no room for a bed. Chicks were kept in wicker baskets above oil heaters to "keep them warm".

A WESTERN suburbs man kept 40 rabbits in his garage. After RSPCA inspectors removed the animals the man replaced them with more rabbits.

A MIDDLE-AGED man in Rye kept 50 cats in a two-storey house and decorated his kitchen bench with the bones of dead cats. The animals rarely went outside and the house was covered in filth.

Animal hoarding is costing the RSPCA up to $1 million a year, with about 15 per cent of the group's anti-cruelty enforcement budget going towards fighting legal challenges from accused hoarders.

Mental health, animal welfare and even fire-fighting experts gathered in Melbourne on Friday to discuss a solution to the growing problem, as the RSPCA called for animal hoarding to be labelled a mental illness.

Some puppy farm owners and people who claim to be running animal shelters have also been exposed as hoarders.

RSPCA inspector Allie Jalbert said many were older women living in isolation.

She said hoarders started collecting animals with the intention of rescuing them, but the situation spiralled out of control.

"They think they are saving the animals, but instead find themselves in a situation where they cannot cope," Ms Jalbert said.

"The majority live in suburbia and we become involved when neighbours complain about the smell."

South Australian couple Joseph and Margarete Higham sparked a nationwide hunt last year when they packed most of their 120 dogs into a ute and fled to Victoria after being convicted of animal cruelty in Adelaide Magistrates' Court..."  More