Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential link between (a) animal abuse and (b) domestic violence; and if she will make a written statement.

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) including domestic abuse is a government priority. VAWG is an unacceptable, preventable issue which blights the lives of millions.

Our Domestic Abuse Act became law in April 2021. This is a truly game changing piece of legislation which transforms our response to victims in every region in England and Wales and ensures perpetrators can be brought to justice. The Act also expands the definition of controlling or coercive behaviour to victims who do not live with their abuser. Domestic abuse can affect all parts of a victim’s life and relationships including, for example, through threats and harm to pets.

In July 2022 we published statutory guidance to accompany the legislation and to provide explanation of the different characteristics of domestic abuse, which includes reference to how pets may be used by perpetrators.

During the passage of the then Domestic Abuse Bill, Dogs Trust submitted written evidence highlighting that available research indicates a link between abuse to pets and abuse to people in the context of domestic abuse, for example they carried out a survey of domestic abuse professionals which found that 49% of them had been aware of cases where pets had been killed.

The Government is also committed to animal welfare. Whilst the Government has not made a formal assessment of existing research into the link between those who commit domestic abuse offences and those who commit animal welfare offences, as a reflection of the seriousness with which we take cruelty against our animals we supported the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act which received royal assent in April 2022.