Do unallied neutrals abide by the no more than 8 units in a hex rule?

I only ask because in the RETREATS section it indicates that the player to your left takes control of the neutrals and makes the decisions on where they go and so on.

But then after explaining how player controled units, unallied neutrals and heroes retreat, it reads.

"When a figure retreats, it is always routed.
After retreating, if the number of units in an area exceeds eight, then
the owner must destroy units until he has eight or less in the area.
Both routed and standing units always count toward this limit."

Does the player to left become 'the owner' of the neutral units while
making decisions for them?

This doesn't indicate it is restricted to player controlled units like the other places in the rulebook that specifiy 'player' when addressing stacking.

Thoughts?

its reasonable to have the "player to the left" controlling the neutrals decide what units over 8 get sacked.

I think you answered your own questions. There is no reason in the rulebook to think that neutrals are dealt with any different than players.