Keeping Australians and their Companion Animals Safe

The issue

The safety and welfare of companion animals have been identified as a critical barrier to many people leaving domestic and family violence (DFV) situations or seeking timely medical treatment. In fact, research indicates that up to 50 per cent of people experiencing DFV delay leaving perpetrators due to concerns for their pets’ wellbeing.

In addition, those who are experiencing vulnerability such as homelessness, financial strain, chronic health challenges or ageing are often unable to find safe, temporary care for their animals.

In many cases, rental housing, aged care homes and hospitals do not allow pets, leaving owners with the dilemma of having to choose between their own wellbeing and the safety of their companion animal.

As a result, many people who find themselves in crisis situations are at risk of harm, as they delay seeking help due to concern about their pet’s safety and care, or find themselves in the position of needing to surrender, rehome or even euthanase their pets.

RSPCA programs that provide emergency boarding, care and support services have been successful in keeping people and animals safe following short-term crisis events. However, with shelters regularly at capacity, their ability to provide expanded crisis support is limited due to a lack of funding.

The solution

The RSPCA is calling on the Australian Government to provide dedicated nationwide funding to expand safe accommodation that accepts pets and for the creation of a DFV early risk identification education program for veterinarians, animal welfare inspectors and other frontline workers.

Dedicated funding to animal and human welfare organisations across Australia would allow for:

An expansion of safe accommodation and care for pets of people experiencing crisis situations, such as DFV, homelessness and emergency medical treatment.
More pet-inclusive DFV refuge accommodation that allows for people and their pets to stay together in times of crisis.
An education program to help veterinarians, animal welfare inspectors and other frontline workers identify and respond to animal abuse in the domestic violence context, enabling earlier risk identification and supporting faster, safer pathways out of harm for victim-survivors.

Expanding these programs in capacity and to more locations would help meet increasing need in communities across Australia, particularly in rural and regional areas.

Keeping companion animals and their owners together to preserve the human-animal bond has important health, social and economic benefits to individuals and the community.

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The issue

The solution

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The issue