I’m of mixed emotions about this.
1. My initial reaction is “this is none of their business”
but
2. I lived next to a crazy lady with 20+ cats and an equal number of dogs. She let them run wild in the neighborhood and generally neglected them. We couldn’t let little kids out in our own back yard, lest they get attacked by dogs that would go under/over the fence. And they barked constantly.
Our problem was resolved when she went to prison for welfare fraud.
I would think a better rule is “have as many as you want, provided you don’t become a nuisance.”
Of course, that should be a given. Also taken into account should be the property size. I've heard of people in small apartments who somehow still think they can have several large dogs, barking dogs. When it bleeds into the expectation of a peaceful existence of those living nearby, then that should be the point of constriction.
I would agree but how do you determine what is a “nuisance” vs. just having one or two dogs or cats than one of your neighbors think you should have. There I think legally needs to be something that determines what is more than a few animals that one can reasonably care for and control vs. a hoarding situation. But what is a hoard?
As posted earlier, I once lived next to a hoarder in a townhouse next to me that not only hoarded trash, rotten food and junk but also animals and had a roach and mice infestation that came into my home plus the stench of animal feces and cat piss coming from both in and outside the home. Many of her neighbors, me included, called our HOA and local code enforcement but it took forever for anything to be done.
She finally got foreclosed on for not paying her mortgage and was finally evicted. She left most the animals behind (with no food or water for weeks) and animal control had to come, only a few could be saved, most had to be euthanized. I don’t know if any criminal charges were ever filed. Last I heard she had been involuntarily committed.
The house was sold at an auction for a very low price given all the damage and remediation, but I don’t think the people who bought it knew the extent of the damage or how much it would take to rehab it for sale. I think they lost money on the flip.
Some people here seem to think that any government interference on how one chose to live their life no matter how unsanitary or putting their neighbors at risk, is beyond what the government should be allowed to dictate. But I’m guessing they’ve never lived next door to a hoarder.