Animal abuse in England and Wales – where do you go to for help?

From animal abuse to human violence, there are gaps in public protection that need to be filled

My first policing ‘beat’ was the town centre of Hastings and, if I was fortunate, I’d have a radio to allow me to connect to the station. If I didn’t, I’d make a call from a police box every two hours.

If people wanted information, I’d be there to help them.

Some days, I would take a turn in the police station front office behind the desk where people would report lost dogs, stolen bicycles or often just stop by for a chat.

The times they are a-changing

Now, if I want to reach a police officer, I’ll make a call to 101 or 999 and reach a call centre, or I’ll go to a police website for advice from my smart phone or computer.

The police websites, therefore, not only must replace the soundly advice of the beat officer but, four decades after my time in Hastings, they must offer something better, for that’s progress.

So, in my new role helping animals and people who are affected by animal abuse, I looked at the 43 main police websites of England and Wales to see what advice they would offer me if I witnessed animal cruelty. Perhaps my partner was abusing my pet as part of controlling coercive behaviour?

The impact of coercive control

When I joined the police, I’m not sure that many recognised how coercive control can have such a traumatic impact on someone.

I know that legislation has started to reflect the impact of emotional abuse, and police officers are far better trained now about dealing with domestic abuse. They must be – it’s one of the biggest impacts on policing resource and, often, those affected will stay in abusive relationships way longer than they should, leading to more violence, and perhaps homicide.

This is even more of an issue when an animal is present in the home.

Women are far more likely to stay to protect their pet, leading to more abuse. The cycle continues.

Police websites

Shockingly, I found that, of the 43 main police websites in England and Wales,

None made any reference to the animal-human violence link.
None offered any advice to anyone affected by animal abuse committed as part of domestic abuse.
None mentioned the connection between animal and child sexual abuse.
67% of websites (29) simply told human victims of animal abuse to call an animal charity.
Two police websites didn’t mention animal cruelty at all.

Most informed the reader that if they witness animal cruelty, they should simply call the RSPCA between 8am and 8pm.

The RSPCA do an incredible job, and I know they work closely with the police, but their role isn’t to deal with humans affected by domestic abuse.

Police training

Since I retired from the police, I’ve had the chance to train officers from around the world and I talk about the animal-human bond and how abusers exploit it.

When I ask uniform officers who must deal with family violence, almost all agree it is a large part of their work.

I talk about how an abuser may hurt an animal to harm a person, to exert control or to prevent their partner from leaving.

We discuss how an abuser may use the pet to drive a wedge between mother and child or even to get the child to abuse the animal, which of course may give the abuser power over the child, and then lead to child abuse.

In the USA, the FBI recognises felony animal abuse as an indicator crime.
In Ukraine, the criminal code increases jail time (from five to eight years) for animal abuse committed in front of children. Police officers remind owners of their animal responsibilities under the law.
In Greece, felony animal abuse now attracts a 10-year maximum jail term. The first 10-year term given in 2022 for cruelty linked to a domestic homicide. Police officers are trained on the human-animal violence link. They also remind owners of their responsibilities under the law.

Protect Animals. Protect People.

When animals are protected, people are safer.

The connection between animal and human violence has been known for over 200 years, yet there are still gaps within public protection, as seen in real-life cases of domestic and child abuse, and within investigations into organised crime.

Some of these gaps could be addressed by increasing the understanding of police officers about what animal abuse is, and why it happens.

That’s what our campaign is about.

In 2019, I was in Toronto with the police across Canada and last year, with a colleague trained by the FBI, I wrote a nine-point-plan, to be available for any country wanting to further recognise the ‘violence link’ that would hopefully save lives, both human and animal.

In Toronto, I met the police of the animal unit in Edmonton, and I’ve highlighted here their website which, in my view, is much more helpful than those of England and Wales.

Naturewatch Foundation’s campaign calls on the 43 police forces of England and Wales to update their websites and offer suitable advice to those who may be suffering in silence.

See below for useful links for those affected by animal abuse as part of coercive control and our ‘library’ page also has an array of information too.

And please continue to follow our campaign work as we draw more attention to the part that animal cruelty, and welfare, plays within relationships, families and communities.

Protect Animals. Protect People.