Crime or animal hoarding disorder? The role of social networks understanding the events of Santo tirso

Abstract

In the early hours of July 19 (2020) in Santo Tirso, Portugal, a forest fire hit two illegal companion animal shelters. Half a hundred died. Hundred and ten nonhumans were rescued alive. The information conveyed by the media potentially suggests an animal hoarding case. Based on the Facebook posts of two of the largest Portuguese organizations standing for animal rights related to the incident, we tried to understand how they and their followers reacted to the event. The analysis was done based on content analysis techniques. The results suggest that both the organizations concerned and their followers perceived the event as a criminal act. Despite the available information, the possibility of an animal hoarding case was never mentioned in the posts on the analyzed pages or in the comments of their followers.