Bill Introduced to Require Data Collection Linking Animal Cruelty and Child Abuse

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Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) endorses the Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act (H.R. 712), reintroduced last week by Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) and Julia Brownley (D-CA). This legislation would amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to require that data collected by the federal government from state child protection agencies include information about animal abuse as a risk factor for child abuse.

Weighing this additional factor can help identify opportunities to prevent both child and animal abuse, as well as suggest when more specialized interventions are needed.

“In a violent household, companion animals are often victims of the same abusive behaviors that harm children, intimate partners, and vulnerable adults,” said Nancy Blaney, director of government affairs for AWI. “Often, the first person to identify a child in a dangerous situation is a law enforcement officer responding to an animal cruelty call. There is an urgent need for more comprehensive information about these patterns so that social service providers can understand how to intervene safely and effectively.”

As authorized by CAPTA in 1988, the Department of Health and Human Services established the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) to compile information from states about the nearly 700,000 American children abused annually. Case reports in NCANDS include a variety of details, such as the type of abuse a child suffered or whether the caregiver had a substance abuse disorder. This data helps researchers and service providers better understand the factors associated with child abuse. Animal abuse is one well-established factor, however, that is not considered under the current law.

Information collected under NCANDS has been used to determine, for example, that children whose families face multiple stressors are at a higher risk of being repeatedly referred to child protective services, and that some types of mistreatment are more likely to recur than others. By tracking child abuse cases related to animal abuse, as provided for under the Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act, NCANDS would offer another valuable tool to prioritize prevention and intervention.

“It is a sad reality that in homes filled with violence, pets often endure the same mistreatment as children and other vulnerable family members,” Van Drew said. “By connecting the dots between animal cruelty and child abuse in households, we are empowering officials to identify when to intervene earlier and helping to prevent further mistreatment from taking place. This bill is an important step forward to protect every member of our community, human and animal alike.”

“By expanding data collection to include animal abuse as a risk factor for child abuse, we’re equipping law enforcement and social service providers with crucial information to recognize warning signs earlier, intervene more effectively, and identify opportunities to prevent both child and animal abuse,” added Brownley. “This bill is a critical step in breaking the cycle of abuse before it escalates and protecting families from further trauma.”

Click here for more information about the link between violence against animals and violence against humans.

Media Contact Information

Marjorie Fishman, Animal Welfare Institute
[email protected], (202) 446-2128

The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people. We seek to improve the welfare of animals everywhere: in agriculture, in commerce, in our homes and communities, in research, and in the wild. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.