Charity calls for 'pet abuse' to be included in domestic violence law

Sonas is calling on the Government to change the laws to explicitly state that pet abuse is a 'distinct form' of coercive control in abusive relationships. File picture

Family pets are being harmed by abusers as a form of coercive control, according to a national domestic violence charity.

Sonas says that, in one case it dealt with, a woman was sent a video by her husband of him “pouring boiling water” over the family dog.

The agency is calling on the Government to change the laws to explicitly state that pet abuse is a “distinct form” of coercive control in abusive relationships.

The charity reports that frontline domestic violence services regularly encounter situations where pets are used to “intimidate, manipulate, monitor or psychologically control” women and children experiencing abuse.

The agency says it supports around 1,500 women and children every year across Ireland and receives an estimated 1,400 helpline calls annually. The organisation provides refuge accommodation, safe homes, court accompaniment, a 24/7 helpline and community domestic violence services across Dublin and the surrounding region.

“Women should never have to choose between their own safety and the safety of their pet,” Fiona O’Malley, CEO of Sonas domestic violence charity, said. “We regularly hear from women who are terrified about what may happen to their pet if they leave. In many cases, pets are threatened, harmed, neglected or used as a means of coercive control against women and children.

One of our clients fled her husband after years of abuse. When he couldn’t physically harm her, he tried every way possible to mentally traumatise her, including sending her a Snapchat video of him pouring boiling water over the family dog. 

Sonas says it receives “regular disclosures” relating to animal abuse within abusive households, including threats to harm pets, using animals to distress children, or threatening to remove or kill family pets.

Last year, the agency worked with the NSPCA to arrange temporary accommodation for pets while women and children access refuge or safe-home support. The charity is calling for legislative reform similar to the UK’s “Ruby’s Law” campaign, which has progressed to bill stage in the UK Parliament.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

It proposes an explicit recognition of pet abuse as coercive control, the protection of pets within domestic violence protection orders, powers to prevent alleged abusers from interfering with animals and recognition that harm to animals can form part of wider domestic abuse patterns.

Sonas says Irish legislation does acknowledge animal cruelty as a relevant factor in domestic violence cases under section 5(g) of the Domestic Violence Act 2018, but says it does not go far enough in explicitly protecting pets or recognising pet abuse as a form of coercive control.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said: "The offence of coercive control, provided for under section 39 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018, recognises and criminalises patterns of psychological and emotional abuse within intimate relationships. A person convicted of this offence is liable to receive a fine or face imprisonment for up to five years.

"This Department keeps the operation of this, and all criminal legislation, under constant review to ensure that it is achieving its intended purpose.

"Animal abuse is a criminal offence under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 and anyone who is aware of any mistreatment of an animal should report it to the relevant local authority or An Garda Síochána."

• Cormac O’Keeffe is security correspondent for the Irish Examiner