Pets caught in divorce fallout as spiteful couples hurt innocent animals
LIKE a red rag to a bull, the newly acquired puppy leaps playfully from the car and into the marital version of World War III in suburban Australia.
A jilted ex-wife has just caught her cheating ex-husband and his lover at her house downloading a computer hard drive and has called police.
She pounces on the puppy in the driveway, threatens to throw it over a fence, but in her white-hot rage chooses to punt it a metre into the clutches of her former husband.
When her rage subsides, she recalls only “calmly passing the dog to the husband to ensure it left with him”. Not surprisingly, her argument is found to be “unpersuasive”.
The puppy case is sadly one of the more tame acts of cruelty uncovered by The Courier-Mail, with a rising number of animals ducking for cover in marriage breakdowns.
The threats to kill, strangle and maim pets are becoming part of the regular revenge tactics of warring couples as they share custody of children and animals.
“It happens fairly regularly where couples split up,” Australian Divorce Blog author Stephen Page told The Courier-Mail.
“Many people have pets and it is very easy to fight over animals. There is nothing worse than having a woman and kids in a refuge who go back because the animals are being mistreated.”
The RSPCA’s Michael Beatty said an animal respite service helping pets of women fleeing violence was currently handling more than 100 animals a year.
https://www.familylawexpress.com.au/family-law-news/divorce-2/pet-custody/pets-caught-in-divorce-fallout-as-spiteful-couples-hurt-innocent-animals/1773/
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Law. Mediation. Psychology.
3 年Unfortunately I come across this all too often with clients. Heart breaking.
Child Support Help Australia
3 年We were the first to open pet insurance in Australia, the first to allow the insurance to be in both owners name and we became well versed in this situation. Which owner was going to be responsible for insurance of the beloved animal. Very touchy subject.
Dispute Resolution Professional and industry leader (Non-Determinative, Non-Adversarial) working to champion peace and respectful behaviour.
3 年The issue of abuse of pets is also a huge red flag for family violence that doesn't seem to always be seen as that. While it might be in spite it could also be the pet is a tool in family terrorism where one of the family members is trying to control the others through threats and violence. Pets can be used as a warning and surrogate by coercive controllers to limit their victims' choices with threats or actual mistreatment or killing of pets. There needs to be education for RSPCA and the police to look for other forms of family violence in animal cruelty cases. There may be a relationship partner and children being terrorised in the background too frightened to leave so there is no "divorce case" indicator.