Shelby County has no ordinance using the word 'hoarding,' but its humane-care article (Secs. 4-181 to 4-187) bars keeping animals in inhumane conditions and sets minimum food, water, shelter, and space standards. Tennessee's cruelty statutes add criminal penalties for neglect.
While the animal Code does not use the term 'hoarding,' Article V (Humane Care of Companion Animals) addresses the neglect it causes. Sec. 4-182 makes it unlawful to keep an animal in inhumane conditions, defined in Sec. 4-181 to include inadequate food, water, shelter, or medical care. Sec. 4-183 sets a mandatory standard of care covering daily food and water, temperature relief, grooming, waste removal, shelter, and minimum enclosure space for dogs. Under Sec. 4-187, each instance of inhumane care, conditions, or abandonment is a separate violation per animal, fined $50 apiece, so a large hoard generates many stacked fines. Humane societies chartered in Shelby County may enforce Article V, and serious neglect can be charged under T.C.A. Title 39.
Under Sec. 4-187, each instance of inhumane care, conditions, or abandonment is a separate $50 violation for each animal, so many animals mean many stacked fines. Animals may be seized, and severe neglect prosecuted under T.C.A. Title 39.
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See how Shelby County's animal hoarding rules stack up against other locations.
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