Bill introduced to Parliament to protect pets in domestic abuse cases

A Private Members’ Bill has been introduced to Parliament aimed at providing protection for pets in cases involving domestic abuse.

The Domestic Abuse (Pets) Bill seeks to do three things:

1. Make provision for the application of non-molestation orders and occupation orders to behaviour relating to pets;

2. Amend definitions of controlling or coercive behaviour and economic abuse to include behaviour relating to pets; and

3. Extend the application of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to pets.

The Bill was presented by Ruth Jones MP, who told the House of Commons:

“At the moment, pets do not receive any meaningful legal protection or consideration in domestic abuse cases. This leaves many victims afraid to leave abusive situations due to concerns about their animals’ safety. Abusers can also retain legal ownership of pets, with limited legal mechanisms to transfer custody to survivors. This Bill, which is also known as Ruby’s law, seeks to change that by explicitly incorporating pets into family law protections such as non-molestation and occupation orders.”

Ruby’s Law is a campaign which seeks to address the often-overlooked role of pets in the cycle of domestic abuse, and provide survivors with the confidence to seek safety without fearing for their animals.

Ms Jones went on to explain that:

“…the Dogs Trust has found that 97% of domestic abuse professionals have dealt with cases where pets are harmed as part of coercive control by abusers. This involves controlling access to food, veterinary care and formal ownership rights, often preventing victims from seeking safety in a refuge or adequately caring for their pets.”

The substantive proposals of the Bill include the following:

• A provision enabling courts when making non-molestation and occupation orders to include the addition of provisions to ensure that pets are protected from harm, and survivors are granted legal custody of their pets.
• Amendment of the Domestic Violence Act 2021 to explicitly reference pet abuse as a form of controlling or coercive behaviour under the definition of domestic abuse. This, says Ms Jones, will require the police and prosecutors to take pet-related domestic abuse seriously by providing clear legal grounds for prosecution.
• Provision to allow veterinary records, witness testimony and digital evidence of threat or harm to pets to be admissible in court as evidence of a non-molestation order breach, making it easier to prosecute abuse cases involving pet harm.
• Provision to enable courts to consider animal abuse as an aggravating factor in sentencing and risk assessments of perpetrators, helping to protect victims and their pets from further abuse.
• Provision to require offenders to attend behavioural intervention programmes aimed at addressing the link between animal cruelty and domestic abuse.

The Bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Commons on the 17^th of April.

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