21.05.26
For a long time, it has been difficult to persuade legislators to treat crimes against animals with the seriousness they deserve. Too often, animal welfare has been seen as a separate issue, disconnected from wider public safety.
The Protect Animals. Protect People campaign sets out to change that. By highlighting the clear links between animal cruelty and other forms of harm, it has helped bring new context to animal welfare, showing that protecting animals is also about protecting people.
From the beginning, the goal was to shift thinking among police forces and parliamentarians. There was already a strong foundation of evidence linking animal abuse with domestic abuse, but this connection needed greater recognition in policy and practice. Through a series of events in Westminster, the campaign brought together experts in safeguarding, law enforcement, and welfare to raise the profile of animal protection as part of a broader approach to human safety.
That work is now beginning to make a real difference.
Progress at Westminster
In December, two major government strategies, Action Plan for Animal Welfare in England and the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, formally acknowledged the link between animal abuse and harm towards people. This recognition is an important step forward. It signals a growing understanding at the highest levels that these issues cannot be addressed in isolation.
Building on this progress, detailed work is now underway with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Home Office to explore what this looks like in practice. The aim is to embed animal welfare more firmly into public protection policy, ensuring that concerns about animals can help identify and prevent risks to people, and that agencies are better equipped to respond together.
This week marked another significant milestone. The campaign helped shape amendments to the Crime and Policing Act 2026, strengthening the legal framework around one of the most serious forms of animal abuse. Research carried out by us in 2020/21 identified important gaps in the law relating to abuse involving sexual motivation, an area known to have links with other serious offences, including those involving harm to children.
This is a very sensitive subject and one that many would rather not even acknowledge existed, so this change was achieved through delicate, sustained, professional engagement with policymakers.
As a result, the offence, “sexual activity with an animal” has now replaced Section 69 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This updated section within the Crime and Policing Act 2026 better reflects the seriousness of this abuse. It ensures that offenders can be subject to notification requirements and managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), bringing these offences in line with other serious sexual crimes.
Why this is important.
The previous legislation was too narrow, meaning some abusive behaviours were not fully captured or prosecuted. The new approach acknowledges the well-established links between harm to animals and other forms of serious violence.
While no law is ever perfect, this represents meaningful progress. It strengthens protections, closes critical gaps, and supports earlier intervention, helping to prevent harm before it escalates.
Ultimately, this is about creating safer communities for everyone. When we take animal welfare seriously, we also strengthen our ability to safeguard people, especially those most vulnerable.
The safest communities, and the safest relationships, are those where animals are protected.
Read the full report here. Warning: potentially distressing content including discussion of sexual abuse involving animals.
