Dr Liesel van der Merwe is a small animal medicine specialist. Send her your questions: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Dr Liesel van der Merwe

Pet abuse has been identified as one of the four significant predictors for intimate partner violence in a recent study. Animal cruelty is often linked to interpersonal violence, including domestic violence and child abuse.

Multiple studies have found that as many as 75% of battered women reported that their pets had been threatened, harmed or killed by their partners. Studies show that 76–88% of homes with animal cruelty also report child abuse.

Various factors contribute to the prevalence of animal cruelty, particularly among children. These factors often stem from exposure to violence and dysfunctional family environments. Children exposed to domestic violence are at increased risk for behaviour problems, including animal abuse, and are three to eight times more likely to commit animal abuse.

Animal abuse is a significant indicator of domestic violence, with a strong correlation between the two. Understanding this relationship is crucial for prevention and intervention strategies. The World Health Organization defines violence as the deliberate use of physical force that can cause injury or psychological harm. Identifying animal abuse can serve as a red flag for potential domestic violence situations.

Veterinarians often encounter animals that have suffered from non-accidental trauma, making their role vital in efforts to identify and prevent domestic violence against humans and animals. Training and awareness programmes are needed for professionals to address these issues effectively.

Vets should be alert to unexplained injuries in pets; more than one fracture of differing ages in the same animal; unexplained old rib fractures; a history inconsistent with the injury and a previous history of unexplained injury or pet death with the same owner or family. There may often be discrepancies in the history between people and at different times of recollection.  Injuries seen include superficial to deeper lesions such as burns, stab wounds, ligatures, retinal haemorrhage and abdominal muscle tearing. Severe injuries include fractures and thoracic trauma with collapse lung and rib fractures and abdominal blunt trauma with diaphragmatic hernias and organ rupture. The wounds per se are not typical of abuse; the surrounding factors will increase suspicion.

Companion animals play an important part in the life of a domestic abuse victim. Firstly, they are often described as possessing characteristics the perpetrator lacks, such as loyalty, love, affection or being non-demanding.

Secondly, they provide emotional support for victims. In addition to being a source of emotional support for adult victims, companion animals provide relief for children. Thirdly, companion animals often protect the victim physically from a violent partner. This resulted in many victims remaining in the abusive environment or left and then returned to try to keep their pets safe.

Abusive partners isolate victims by restricting their contact with friends and family and also exert financial control. Research has found that the abuse of companion animals is a coercive tactic used by domestic violence perpetrators to control their partners.

This, compounded with the value an abused spouse will place on the companion animal, will often cause a victim to delay leaving a dangerous situation because they fear for their pet’s safety and know of no place to take them.

What then can we do? We need to be aware of the important role pets play in the abuse cycle and approach a problem holistically. The pets and the human victims need to be assisted. Animals are included in temporary restraining orders in some states in the US. Laws are being enacted to protect the victim of domestic violence by recognising that animal abuse is often used to hurt or coerce the victim as well as to protect the animals.

In South Africa protection orders are designed to protect individuals from abuse, including physical and emotional violence. The Domestic Violence Act of SA doesn’t explicitly include pets, but some legal experts argue that harming or threatening to harm a pet could be interpreted as an act of violence.