Legal Consequences of Animal Hoarding in New Zealand

A 10-year prohibition against a defendant from owning or exercising authority over any animals has been upheld by the New Zealand Court of Appeal in an animal hoarding case which has progressed through the New Zealand legal system over the past 5 years.

This comment reviews the Court of Appeal decision (Kondratyeva v R CA6/2015 2015] NZCA 266 [23 June 2015]) and explores the increasing evidence of a mental health component in animal hoarding behaviour. It also discusses the stress and burden that animal hoarding cases places on the shelters that have the legal responsibility for prosecuting animal cruelty cases in New Zealand.