News

Wellesley rep among those seeking

 to protect animals in domestic violence cases

By: Michael Ferrigno/Townsman correspondent

GateHouse News Service

WELLESLEY - Local lawmakers are hoping that Massachusetts will become the next among a number of states that already protect animals against perpetrators of domestic violence. Both witnesses and advocacy groups have been forthcoming in lobbying for House Bill 1499, citing the strong correlations between violence toward animals and instances of domestic abuse.

On its passing, the bill, which would allow judges to include pets in 209A Abuse Prevention Orders, is expected to remove a powerful manipulation tool used by abusers in controlling their targets. The bill, which has been under consideration in two previous Assemblies, is currently on hold in the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.

"With difficult economic times leading to higher rates of domestic violence, we need to do all that we can do to protect victims," said state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, in an email. "By stepping in to protect an abused animal, we not only protect the animal, we protect its owner." Koutoujian co-presented the bill along with state Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose.

Studies quoted by the American Humane Association, a child and animal protection advocacy group, have estimated that up to "48 percent of battered women have delayed their decision to leave a abusive home, or have returned to their batterer, out of fear for the welfare of their pets."

"Pets are used as a means of getting a person to come back," says Sue Webb, Wellesley animal control officer and founder of the Stray Pets in Need animal shelter. "They are a control tool." Webb's shelter works with the Link Up Education Network, a nonprofit organization based in Ware that educates people on the connections between animal abuse and other types of violence.

Melinda Thomas recalls the feelings of horror and helplessness she experienced when in 1997, she found pets beheaded and discarded in her bed -  a message from her abusive partner that she should not seek further protection from the police.

Thomas, who is now a development coordinator at Womanshelter/Compa-eras in Holyoke, also operates an animal foster care network . Thomas has seen through her Safety Plan for Animals program thar fear over animals' safety does in fact prevent a number of women in seeking help.

"[SPAN] has been very helpful for victims, especially that did not want to leave before because they did not want to leave their animals behind," she said. "It's enabled a lot of victims to get safe, once they know their animals are also safe."

Despite its supporters, the bill still faces uncertain future. Critics of the proposed law question how potential abuse could be verified without a third-party witness.

"Personally, I like the bill," said state Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem, D-Newton, who chairss the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. "I have heard from the Humane Society, the MSCPCA and have read statistics about how often it is the pet that gets abused in these [domestic violence] situations. But we have so many bills and so few come out of committee. This is just one that hasn't made it out."