Public Awareness
Bulletins - Summer
2010 OPDV Bulletin
Table of Contents
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Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse
Perpetrators of domestic violence use many tactics to control and intimidate their victims, including physical, sexual, economic, and psychological abuse. Another tactic some abusers use is threatening and/or abusing pets. Abusers may physically abuse pets, withhold food, water, shelter, or veterinary care from them, or take pets away from the home and abandon them.
For many people, pets are a beloved member of the family. They are also vulnerable and dependent on people to provide them with the care they need to be safe and healthy. For domestic violence victims whose partners abuse their pets, fear for the safety of their animals may be a major factor in their decision to leave the relationship or seek help. Just as abusers threaten victims with harming things they care about, threatening to hurt or kill pets is another way that abusers manipulate and control victims.
It is important to know that there are programs to help domestic violence victims’ pets. Domestic violence programs often partner with local animal shelters or rescue organizations to provide services to abused pets. These programs can often house pets in a secure location while victims are in shelter and may provide services such as emergency veterinary care and placement for animals victims can no longer keep.
Q&A About Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse
This Q&A was conducted with Brad Shear, Executive Director, Mohawk
and Hudson River Humane Society.
Q: Can you discuss the link between domestic violence and animal abuse?
A: Perpetrators of domestic violence want to have power and control over their victims. Those actions are expressed in many different ways, but one way to control a partner is to threaten or do harm to whatever the victim cares about. In some cases the perpetrator will threaten or harm a child and if there is a pet in the house, the pet may be used by a perpetrator as a way to control their victim. If there is abuse in a home and pets are present it is more likely than not that the pets are also being abused. The central motivators are power and control. If abusing pets gets them closer to their end, they will abuse pets. Abusers will often tell victims that if the victim tries to leave, the abuser will kill or in some way harm their pet. Victims may be hesitant to seek help like going to a shelter because they don’t have arrangements for their pets and aren’t aware of cooperative programs between animal shelters and domestic violence programs. The result is victims often staying with abusers to save their pet’s life.
Q: What are some ways in which this abuse may occur?
A: People abuse pets in many ways; sometimes by withholding, food, water, medical care, or shelter. Often animals are physically harmed in the same way that human victims are: they are hit, kicked, stabbed, and shot. After being injured, the abuser will often prevent the animal from receiving veterinary care, or use the provision of care as a bargaining chip to gain control over human victims. An abuser may negotiate care of the animal in exchange for cooperation from the victim.
Q: Are there legal remedies to address pet abuse in the context of domestic violence?
A: Animal cruelty is illegal in every State. New York and 43 other States have felony level cruelty laws to address the most heinous cases. New York’s felony law is commonly known as Buster’s Law, named for a cat that was set on fire by a man who was ultimately convicted of only a misdemeanor. In many cases, victims are reluctant to pursue animal cruelty or any other charges against their abusers, they just want to get away.
New York State allows victims of domestic violence to include their pets in orders of protection. If the abuser is restricted from contacting the victim and children, he also can be ordered to stay away from pets. This recent change to our State law prevents abusers from using pets as a tool to continue controlling their victims. For more information: http://www.opdv.state.ny.us/law/summ_year/sum06.html
Q: Are there services available to assist domestic violence victims’ pets?
A: The Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society will hold the pets of domestic violence victims in a secret and secure location for as long as they are in one of the domestic violence shelters we work with, Equinox in Albany County and Unity House in Rensselaer County. Victims of domestic violence first contact one of the shelters and are asked about pets during the intake process. If they have pets they would like to bring with them, there is an additional intake process that informs the victims about the program for animals while gathering information about their pets’ needs. There are several similar programs around the state. A list of similar programs around the country can be found here: http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/first_strike_the_connection_between_animal_cruelty_and_human_violence/. The list is by no means comprehensive so we recommend that individuals call their local domestic violence programand animal shelter to find out if they have an active program. Unfortunately there is currently no such program for New York City residents, but many shelters upstate have established partnerships to provide these services.
For more information on the link between domestic violence and animal abuse:
OPDV’s new Information Guide:
“Animal Cruelty and Domestic Violence”: http://opdv.state.ny.us/whatisdv/dvanimalcrlty.html
American Humane Association:
Humane Society of the United States, First Strike Program:
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA):
http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/domestic-violence-and-animal-cruelty.html
