'Victims should never have to choose': Act targets pet abuse in family harm
Act has announced it will criminalise the use of pets as “instruments of coercion and control in family violence”.
Announcing the policy at Pet Refuge’s facility in Auckland, the party’s family and sexual violence spokeswoman Karen Chhour pledged legislation to close loopholes exploited by abusers.
Chhour said the proposal is grounded in “confronting” evidence showing abusive partners are far more likely to intentionally harm animals.
One study cited found that more than half of victims with pets avoided leaving an abusive relationship out of a sense of responsibility and fear for their animal’s safety. Chhour said nobody should have to consider this.
“Victims of family violence should never have to choose between their own safety and the safety of the pet they love,” Chhour said.
“Family violence isn’t just about physical abuse. Perpetrators use threats against beloved pets as another way to intimidate and trap their victims.”
Act wants to pass legislation that would strengthen protections for companion animals “used as instruments of coercion and control in family violence”.
Act's family and sexual violence spokeswoman Karen Chhour says her party would make using pets to control partners a criminal offence if re-elected. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Pet Refuge, New Zealand’s only dedicated safehouse for animals trapped in family violence situations, has previously described the increasing abuse of pets in family violence incidents as “disturbing”.
The charity reported a 19% increase in the number of families they assisted in 2025 compared to the year before.
Chhour, the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence, said pets can be deliberately targeted by abusers, so many victims defer leaving out of fear of what could happen if they do.
“Right now, if police attend a family violence callout, a victim may escape while the family pet is left behind with the alleged abuser,” Chhour said.
“That gives offenders another way to threaten and manipulate the people they’re abusing.”
With jurisdictions such as New South Wales in Australia and more than 40 American states already recognising the issue, Chhour said New Zealand needed to follow suit.
“In New South Wales, harming or threatening to harm a pet is now a standard condition of every domestic violence protection order because lawmakers recognised exactly how offenders exploit the bond between victims and their animals.
“More than 40 US states have also strengthened protection orders to include companion animals.
“New Zealand is behind the curve. It’s time our laws caught up with the reality of family violence.”
Chhour said “doing nothing is not an option” and pledged that Act would introduce measures making it easier for victims to leave their abusers “without leaving part of their family behind”.
The measures proposed include:
- Amending the Crimes Act to create an offence of coercion by animal abuse, with a penalty of up to seven years in prison;
- Strengthening Protection Orders to prevent a person subject to a Protection Order from withholding, selling, giving away or otherwise disposing of a protected person’s pet;
- Requiring courts, when granting a Protection Order and there is a dispute over a pet, to consider which person is safest for the animal to stay with;
- Requiring police to record pets on family harm forms during callouts;
- Giving police the legal authority and guidance to move a pet to a secure place, such as Pet Refuge or the SPCA, when an officer has reasonable grounds to believe the animal is at risk of harm or being used to coerce the victim.
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