This ruling is a positive step forward for improving how the legal system addresses crimes against animals. We are hopeful that this will ensure further protection for victims and shed more light on the grave correlation between violence against humans and violence against animals.
Bucky who was brutally killed in 2010 in a domestic violence
case. In memory of Bucky, Pasado’s Safe Haven launched the Bucky
Award, an annual recognition to raise awareness about crimes against
animals and to recognize the officers and prosecutors who do
exceptional work on these difficult cases.
The evidence is clear – there is a link between acts of cruelty to
animals and domestic violence. This is why we applaud the Washington
Supreme Court’s recent acknowledgment that those who commit crimes
against animals are likely to harm other humans.
On February 17, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that animal abuse
can constitute domestic violence. This ruling was issued in a case
involving a Tukwila man who was convicted for brutally beating his
girlfriend’s dog, Mona, to death in 2018. This important ruling not
only makes additional protections, such as no-contact orders,
available for victims in these crimes, but it also acknowledges the
significant link between domestic violence and animal cruelty.
Domestic violence situations are extremely volatile and can be
uniquely dangerous for animals living in the household. Perpetrators
often torture or kill animals as a way to inflict emotional pain on
their partners because they know how much these animals are loved.
Pasado’s Safe Haven has been involved in numerous cases involving
domestic violence where we rescued animals from serious harm at the
hands of a partner. We have witnessed firsthand the brutality of
these cases and the damaging impact of violence on the animal and
human victims involved.
This ruling is a positive step forward for improving how the legal
system addresses crimes against animals. We are hopeful that this
will ensure further protection for victims and shed more light on
the grave correlation between violence against humans and violence
against animals.
This ruling also comes at the beginning of The Animal Legal Defense
Fund’s National Justice for Animals Week, an annual event to raise
public awareness around crimes committed against animals. By raising
awareness about animal cruelty and understanding its deep connection
to violence against people, we will improve the way our criminal
justice system treats both human and animal victims caught in cycles
of domestic and family violence. Washington’s Supreme Court decision
represents an important step forward that will no doubt save lives.