Cats Protection, along with other pet fostering services, have welcomed the Home Office’s long-awaited Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy, which aims to halve such violence within a decade and recognises the vital role pets play in the lives of victim-survivors.
It focuses on preventing radicalisation of young men, stopping abusers and supporting victims. For the first time, the strategy’s action plan acknowledges the importance of safeguarding both people and their pets, ensuring that survivors can flee abuse without leaving beloved animals behind.

Earlier this year, Cats Protection’s Lifeline service, alongside fellow accredited domestic abuse specialist pet fostering services – Endeavour, Dogs Trust Freedom and Refuge4Pets – met with the Home Office and Defra to highlight the link between animal abuse and domestic abuse.

Together with The Links Group, the organisations stressed that only through collaboration and multi-agency working can they provide the most effective support.

“We’ve been keenly awaiting the publication of the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy,” said Amy Hyde, Manager of Cats Protection Lifeline service. “Now described by ministers as a national emergency, we need to see real change for women and girls across the UK. We’re incredibly pleased to see the action plan commit to four key measures focused on improving safety and support for victim-survivors and their animals, including funding key research, raising awareness of services support the pets of victim-survivors, reducing risks related to microchips and promoting training around identifying non-accidental injury, as delivered by The Links Group. 

“Our animals are more than pets – they’re family – and for many people experiencing domestic abuse, knowing their pet will be safe can be the difference between staying or finding safety. We look forward to working together closely to help support the delivery of these measures.”

As part of this collaborative effort, The Links Group specialist pet fostering services provide free and confidential temporary fostering for pets belonging to people experiencing domestic abuse. These services are essential because most refuges and emergency accommodation cannot accept pets, leaving many survivors trapped in dangerous situations.

Existing UK based research highlights that perpetrators of domestic abuse use and abuse animals in up to 88 per cent of households where there are animals living inside and outside the home. And according to a Dogs Trust survey, more than 9 in 10 professionals (95%) said that some survivors will not leave their home without knowing their pet would be safe.

In 2024 alone, The Links Group specialist fostering services cared for 1,500 pets, enabling 1,088 people to escape abuse knowing their animals were safe.
Beyond fostering, The Links Group and its specialist fostering services are driving research and training to strengthen the evidence base and improve safeguarding. 
A new research programme led by the University of Bristol and funded by Defra, is exploring the connection between animal abuse and domestic abuse-related deaths, aiming to inform integrated approaches to protect both people and animals.

“The ambition here is to develop the evidence base necessary to create an effective, integrated approach to safeguarding all victim-survivors of domestic abuse (people and animals), as well as the better management of perpetrator behaviour relating to domestic abuse and animal cruelty,” said Dr Mary Wakeham, Senior Research Associate from the University of Bristol.

In addition, nearly 4,000 professionals across domestic abuse, social care, housing, veterinary and animal welfare sectors have already received free training this year on recognising and responding to these links.

“Through this recognition in the VAWG strategy, its Action Plan and continued collaboration across human and animal welfare sectors, we’re committed to ensuring that no one has to choose between their safety and their pet,” said Amy.