Resolution Regarding Animal Cruelty and its Link to Other Forms of Violence

• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Date: 01 September 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12181

Resolution Regarding Animal Cruelty and its

Link to Other Forms of Violence

WHEREAS, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) is an

organization committed to upholding the rights of all parties and victims, the safety of

all family members, and the safety of the community;

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WHEREAS, empirical research demonstrates a direct link

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between animal cruelty and

interpersonal violence including intimate partner abuse,

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child abuse,

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and elder abuse;

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WHEREAS, 99% of pet owners consider their animals to be “companions” or “family

members;”

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1

Mission, Vision, and Diversity Statement, Nat’l Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges, http://

www.ncjfcj.org/about/mission-vision-and-diversity-statement (last visited Apr. 8, 2019).

2

ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, ANIMAL CRUELTY’S LINK TO OTHER FORM OF

VIOLENCE (2018), available at https://aldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/The-Link-2018.pdf.

3

Betty Jo Barrett et al., Animal Maltreatment as a Risk Marker of More Frequent and Severe Forms of Inti-

mate Partner Violence, 26 J. INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 1 (2017), finding that 89% of women who had

companion animals during an abusive relationship reported their animals were threatened, harmed, or killed

by their abuser. See also Benita J. Walton-Moss et al., Risk Factors for Interpersonal Violence and Associated Injury

among Urban Women, 30 J. COMMUNITY HEALTH 377 (2005), finding that abuse of a companion animal

is one of the four most significant risk factors for someone becoming a domestic abuser and is an indicator of

the use of controlling and violent behaviors.

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Elizabeth DeViney, Jeffery Dickert & Randall Lockwood, The Care of Pets Within Child Abusing Fami-

lies, Int’l J. for the Study of Animal Problems, 4(4), 321-329 (1983) available at https://animalstudiesrepository.

org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=acwp_awap fining that, of 53 families under observation of the

New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services for reasons of child abuse who also owned pets, abuse of a

companion animal occurred in 60% of the surveyed homes. See also Shelby Elaine McDonald et al., Children’s

Experiences of Companion Animal Maltreatment in Households Characterized by Intimate Partner Violence, 50 CHILD

ABUSE & NEGLECT 116 (2015), examining the link between animal abuse and child maltreatment, particu-

larly looking at the effects that abuse of companion animals has on children who witness animal abuse.

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HUMANE SOC’Y OF THE U.S., STATE OF WIS. DEPT. OF HEALTH & FAMILY SERVS.,

DIV. OF DISABILITY & ELDER SERVS. & BUREAU OF AGING & LONG TERM CARE RES.,

CREATING SAFER COMMUNITIES FOR OLDER ADULTS AND COMPANION ANIMALS (2003),

available at http://nationallinkcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ElderAbuse-WisconsinManual.

pdf [hereinafter Safer Communities], finding that 35% of adult protective service workers reported their cli-

ents talked about their pets being threatened, neglected, injured, or killed by a caregiver.

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AM. VETERINARY MED. ASS’N, U.S. PET OWNERSHIP & DEMOGRAPHIC SOURCE-

BOOK (2012), finding that among pet owners, 63.2% considered their pets to be family members; another

35.8% considered their pets to be pets or companions. The remaining 1% considered their pets to be prop-

erty. https://www.avma.org/news/javmanews/pages/130201a.aspx

Juvenile and Family Court Journal 71, No. 3

©2020 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

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