around the country for their perspective on the family
violence/animal cruelty connection. Their responses indicate that 91
percent of adult victims and 73 percent of children talk about
incidents of companion animal abuse during shelter screening
interviews. However, only 18 percent of the shelters surveyed
routinely ask about pets when a victim comes to them for services.
According to Virginia-Marie Beckett, manager of The HSUS' First
Strike campaign, "These findings show that while domestic violence
advocates recognize the connection between animal cruelty and family
violence, they need additional resources to assist victims in safety
planning for companion animals."
