More than 2,000 households drew complaints in fiscal 2018 for not caring for their dogs and cats properly, mainly because there were too many of them, according to an Environment Ministry survey.
Known as animal hoarding, this situation is said to be caused by owners who cannot care for their pets properly due to reasons such as financial difficulties and aging. The ministry plans to compile guidelines for municipalities to tackle the issue in fiscal 2020.
In October 2019, the ministry conducted a survey about animal hoarding-related complaints received in fiscal 2018 by 125 local governments, including prefectures, government ordinance-designated cities and core cities. The ministry analyzed the answers it received from 120 local governments.
According to the survey, local governments received complaints from multiple residents about 2,064 households with two or more animals. Nearly a quarter of them, or 543 households, kept 10 to 29 animals, while 134 households had more than 30 animals.
There were 333 households whose situations were unknown, because the owners who inspired complaints refused to allow local government officials to enter their homes or for other reasons.
The ministry also analyzed 368 problematic cases over the past five years. It found 51.6% of them were caused by households with 10 to 29 animals, while 31% were caused by those with 30 or more animals.
Also, 53% of the owners were in financial difficulty and could not afford to spay or neuter their pets or pay other costs. People aged 70 or older accounted for 31.5% of the owners and single-person households accounted for 45.9%.
The ministry's envisaged guidelines are expected to promote support for the welfare of animal owners, in addition to the issue of animal protection.
"There will be more animal hoarding cases because some people don't make complaints to avoid trouble," said an official at the ministry's animal welfare and management office. "We want to take measures [to deal with the issue] based on the survey results."
A 66-year-old unemployed man living alone in Saitama Prefecture was keeping more than 100 dogs in his house in the spring of 2019. About 10 years ago, he began taking care of a male stray dog and received a female dog from relatives later. The dogs had puppies one after another.
One of his neighbors said, "I've been bothered by barking that starts in the early morning."
An acquaintance of the man consulted an animal welfare organization in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, which began helping him through such means as giving some of his dogs to other people. The number of dogs he keeps has now declined to about 60.
"They're adorable, like my children. I couldn't afford to spay or neuter them," the man said.
"Animal hoarders think they're loving their pets, so many of them don't see the situation as a problem," representative of the animal welfare organization said. "When you smell a horrible odor or hear terrible barking or crying of animals in your area, you should consult a local government or an animal welfare organization immediately."
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