Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence

Tragically, 50% of domestic violence victims delay seeking help for fear that an abuser will harm a pet...


Animals are the silent victims of domestic violence. Most people treat pets as members of the family. Unfortunately, when it comes to domestic violence, pets are also deemed part of the family unit and forced to suffer in silence at the hands of abusers. Some studies estimate that:


* 50% of domestic violence victims delay seeking help out of concern that their pet may be harmed by the abuser.

* 88% of companion animals living in households where domestic violence occurs are routinely threatened, harmed or even killed.

The ASPCA witnesses firsthand the connection between animal abuse and domestic violence. Just last month, police in Little Falls, NY, arrested Mark Beacraft, Jr., for assaulting a four-year-old child. The suspect has a history of violence—including a guilty plea in 2007 for murdering a neighborhood cat. He was sentenced to one year in a county jail but was later released under house arrest.