Thank you.
Good morning, Madam Chair and honourable members. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today.
Humane Canada is the federation of Humane Societies and SPCAs, with members in 10 provinces and two territories, whom Canadians depend on to care for abused and abandoned animals, to advocate for greater protections and to provide resources to their communities.
We're also the founders of the Canadian violence link coalition, which brings together multisector stakeholders to explore the connection between animal abuse and human violence known as the “violence link” that often manifests in intimate partner and family violence.
I'm here today to advocate for survivors of violence and for their animals. More than 60% of Canadian homes have a companion animal, with 70% of those identifying their animal as family. When there is violence in the home or in a relationship, it is not only the human victim who is vulnerable but also the animal, which can be used as a very effective tool of coercion and control
From our work with survivors with animals, as well as with law enforcement, family lawyers and prosecutors, we are aware of how common this link is. However, it often goes unrecognized by law enforcement and in the courts, even when animal cruelty charges are laid. This is especially true where an abuser engages in non-violent forms of abuse. A 2018 Canadian survey found that 89% of violence survivors reported animal abuse by their partners. A later study of survivors highlighted some specific actions, with 65% reporting threats to get rid of the pet and 60% reporting intimidating or scaring the pet, while only 20% reported the actual injury of a pet and 14% reported a pet being killed.
These statistics indicate that abusers are more likely to engage in less obvious forms of abuse, leaving victims unsure if they should report to police because it's unclear if a crime has been committed.
A few stories from our network and research show the range of ways animals can be used for coercive control. A survivor left an abusive situation, but her abuser refused to let her take her dog. A week later, he brought the dog to meet her but only allowed her to spend time with the dog if she complied with some of the things he wanted. Even after leaving, he was continuing to control her through the dog.
Our family law research study last year revealed similar situations, or situations where the pet was just removed without the victim's knowledge or consent and with no indication of where they would been taken.
In an Ontario dangerous offender application in 2022, the offender's history of violent behaviour spanned 20 years, with a demonstrated pattern of violence toward multiple intimate partners. During one such incident, he was jealous that his former partner's phone kept ringing. He wanted to have sex later, and when she refused, he became irate, accused her of cheating on him and began smashing things before throwing her cat off the 11th floor balcony. He then blocked her from leaving when she tried to run outside after her animal.
According to a January 11 article in the Ottawa Citizen this year, an offender was arrested for arranging the sexual abuse of four dogs and the extortion of a young man with autism, a minor he was grooming to have a sexual relationship with. An investigation revealed that the offender had coerced his impaired victim into being photographed engaging in sex acts with a dog, which he then used to extort sexual favours from him, threatening to send the image to the victim's family and friends, as well as to police.
While legislation would be useful to clearly identify that these indeed are criminal acts involving coercive control, we also need to train all justice system personnel, from law enforcement through to judges, to understand animal abuse as a significant contributing factor in situations involving intimate partner violence and family violence. This would add clarity not only for justice stakeholders but also for victims and survivors.
In closing, this committee recognized that cruelty toward animals can be an early indicator of intimate partner violence and that abusers may use pets as a way to threaten their partners in its study of intimate partner and family violence in Canada. Likewise, we urge you to consider animal mistreatment as a tool of coercive behaviour here. Thank you.