Knowledge and attitudes of Australian veterinarians to animal abuse and human interpersonal violence

Abstract

A survey of Australian veterinarians was undertaken to assess their amount of knowledge about, and their attitudes towards animal abuse, human violence and the link between the two. Results from the 185 respondents to a questionnaire that was either mailed out or hand delivered revealed a wide variety of definitions and attitudes towards abuse, with the majority of veterinarians recognising the link between human and animal abuse. The overwhelming majority of veterinarians believed that they should intervene in some way when confronted with either animal or human abuse, although most felt ill-equipped to deal with suspected human abuse. Almost 20% of cases of animal abuse had associated suspected or known human abuse. It is suggested that veterinarians need more resources made available to them to be able to deal more effectively with these situations.

Animal abuse and family violence: Survey on the recognition of animal abuse by veterinarians in New Zealand and their understanding of the correlation between animal abuse and human violence

“…Because of the focus of the survey, those veterinarians who had not been in practice in New Zealand in the previous 5 years were asked to tick the appropriate box and return the questionnaire unanswered. The questionnaire was based on a similar survey in Australia (Green and Gullone 2005), and was designed to be completed within 20 minutes. The questionnaire and methodology of this survey were approved by the Unitec Research and Ethics Committee, Auckland, New Zealand.…”

“…A higher proportion of responding veterinarians in New Zealand than in the UK (63% vs 48%, respectively) had seen cases of abuse. In the survey in Australia (Green and Gullone 2005), where the incidence of cases of abuse was given as 0.12 per 100 patients, 92% of respondents reported having diagnosed animal abuse at varying frequencies. However, in that survey, veterinarians were also asked for their own defi nition of abuse, and many included neglect and other non-violent forms of abuse.…”

“…In surveys in Australia (Green and Gullone 2005) and the USA (Sharpe and Wittum 1999), a frequency in terms of caseload was requested. Although our survey did include a question on the total number of animals seen per year by the respondents, there was large variation in the caseloads reported in our survey; respondents were drawn from both urban and rural practices, where cases dealt with both individual animals and herds or fl ocks, hence the data were more meaningfully presented in terms of the number of veterinarians who had seen cases of animal abuse.…”

“…The frequency with which veterinarians see cases of deliberate animal abuse, and their awareness of the link between this and human violence, has been studied in Australia (Green and Gullone 2005), the United Kingdom (UK) (Munro and Thrusfi eld 2001a) and the USA (Sharpe and Wittum 1999), but no such information is available for veterinarians in New Zealand. Only Munro and Thrusfi eld (2001c) have looked at the issue of sexual abuse of animals.…”

Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence

“…Nevertheless, most veterinary practitioners will be presented at some time in their careers with animals that have been victims of NAI indicative of neglect, abuse, cruelty, and torture. 2,26,34,35,41,50,51,60,64,73 Many members of the public are more likely to refer to their veterinarian's expertise on a case of suspected cruelty than to report a case to a local humane society or law enforcement agency. 30 While such cases may not be seen regularly, they are invariably problematic and difficult to resolve.…”