No Animals Left Behind - Help Them Escape Violence

Violence Link

Evidenced-based research shows that violence against animals and violence against people are not distinct and separate problems. Rather, they are part of a larger pattern of violent crimes that often co-exist and popularly known as the “Violence Link”. Cases of partner abuse, gang violence, youth crimes, assaults, homicides, sexual assaults and child abuse also commonly include animal abuse, however, the justice, public safety and social service system does not recognize or incorporate animal welfare into their systems.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Ensure that all reporting and tracking systems integrate animal cruelty including the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System and the Major Case Management system.
• Create an Animal Cruelty Offender Database so that offences and offenders can be tracked.
• Fund mandatory training for Justice stakeholders to entrench knowledge of animal welfare and the Violence Link into the system.
• Ensure that animal issues are tracked by Statistics Canada including information about companion animals in Canadian households and co-occurrence of animal abuse and interpersonal violence.
• Commit funding to a national humane education strategy so that every child and youth is provided the

education and training they need to develop respect, empathy and compassion toward human and nonhuman animals and thereby to value the interests of others.