Animal hoarding is addressed through Tennessee's cruelty statute (TCA 39-14-202), which makes it an offense to fail to provide necessary food, water, care, or shelter, or to abandon an animal. Knox County Animal Services (Young-Williams) investigates neglect; a court can bar convicted owners from keeping animals.
Knox County does not have a standalone hoarding ordinance, but hoarding cases are prosecuted under Tennessee's cruelty-to-animals statute, TCA 39-14-202. A person commits an offense who intentionally or knowingly fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, water, or care for an animal in their custody, fails to provide access to necessary shelter, or abandons an animal. These provisions squarely reach hoarding situations involving many neglected animals. A convicted person may be prohibited by the court from having custody of other animals for a period the court deems reasonable, and a second conviction is elevated to a Class E felony. Young-Williams Animal Center investigates and can seize neglected animals.
Cruelty is generally a Class A misdemeanor; a second or subsequent conviction is a Class E felony, and courts may forfeit the animals and bar future ownership (TCA 39-14-202).
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