Content warning.
This article discusses domestic and family violence, animal cruelty and abuse.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family, or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800respect.org.au for 24/7 confidential support. In an emergency, call 000.
‘Til The Cows Come Home rescues and rehomes vulnerable animals, supporting survivors to ensure no animal is left behind in violence.
Please note that none of the images used in this piece are animals that were rescued from domestic violence cases. We keep this information highly confidential to protect the families involved.
Saving pets from family violence
If you’ve ever had a dog race to greet you at the front door, a cat curl up beside you after a long day, or a horse wander over to meet you at the paddock fence, you’ll know that pets aren’t just pets. They’re family.
But being family – the loving fixtures in our homes and routines – also means they can become caught up in family violence.
Tragically, pets are often not just witnesses to abuse, they’re victims of it. And for many survivors, their animal can be the very reason they stay. It’s an impossible choice: leave to save themselves or stay to protect an animal they can’t bear to abandon.
With family violence affecting millions of women, children and families in Australia, ‘Til The Cows Come Home works to remove this impossible choice, offering animals a safe, loving home while survivors focus on their own safety and stability.
Domestic violence in Australia
The statistics of domestic violence in Australia are nothing short of confronting – and behind every number is a person, a family and, in many cases, a pet living through the same fear and uncertainty.
People of all genders can experience domestic and family violence. However, women are disproportionately affected, particularly by violence from a current or former intimate partner.
In Australia, one in four women has experienced violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15. The effects can also carry across generations: in 2021–22, 12% of Australian adults reported witnessing violence towards their mother by a partner when they were children.
Research suggests pets are present in up to 70% of domestic and family violence cases, reflecting how deeply they are woven into family life and emotional wellbeing.
For perpetrators, that bond can become another means of control. Many women report delaying their departure, remaining with an abusive partner or returning after leaving because they fear what may happen to an animal left behind.
No one should have to choose between their own safety and the safety of an animal they love. Yet for many survivors, the lack of a safe place for their animal can make an already dangerous and complicated situation even harder to escape.
When pets can be used as tools of coercive control
In abusive relationships, the unconditional bond of a pet can be deliberately exploited.
Research has consistently found a link between animal cruelty and domestic and family violence. Rather than being isolated acts of cruelty, threats or harm towards animals are often used as a form of coercive control — a pattern of behaviour designed to intimidate, isolate and maintain power over another person.
This abuse can take many forms, including:
- Threatening to harm, abandon or kill a pet
- Physically harming, neglecting or withholding veterinary care from an animal
- Using a pet as leverage to stop someone leaving or to force them to return
- Controlling access to a pet, or using the animal to monitor, intimidate or punish a victim
Research shows that around half of women in violent relationships report that a partner has threatened, harmed or killed a family pet.
These behaviours are not accidental or impulsive, but deliberate and devastating tactics.
When they’re not ‘just a pet…’
A pet can be the greatest source of comfort in the darkest moments, making the decision to leave incredibly complicated.
Research shows that one in three women delay leaving an abusive relationship because they fear for their pet’s welfare. Know this isn’t an act of weakness, but one of unimaginable strength, love and courage.
For many, leaving without them simply isn’t an option.
In Australia, we’re facing a lack of animal-inclusive crisis accommodation
While some crisis accommodation services can support people with small pets or help arrange temporary care, animal-inclusive options still remain limited across Australia.
The challenge is even greater for people caring for large animals such as horses, sheep or cows. Their size, transport needs and ongoing care requirements mean there are very few places equipped to take them in during an emergency.
This leaves many survivors facing an impossible decision: stay and protect the animal they love or leave knowing it may be threatened, harmed or neglected.
We see this as a critical gap in Australia’s family violence response system.
We’re working to close this gap
At ‘Til The Cows Come Home, our mission has always been to rescue and rehome vulnerable animals, especially those at risk of harm, neglect or being treated as disposable.
When a victim-survivor of violence reaches out, their request to rehome an animal is never taken lightly. We are here to listen and work with them, alongside police where appropriate, to bring their animals to a secure and loving home.
How ‘Til The Cows Come Home can help
It’s easy to think an animal rescue charity exists solely for animals. And while their welfare is at the heart of everything we do, our work often changes lives far beyond the animals we rescue.
When an animal is caught up in family violence, helping them also means helping the people who love them.
By safely rehoming animals at risk, we can remove one of the biggest barriers to leaving an abusive relationship. It means survivors don’t have to choose between their own safety and the safety of an animal they love, creating a safer pathway forward for both.
Loving animals, an act of strength
To us, it is one of the greatest acts of strength and a reflection of the deep bond shared. Support is available to a safer path forward – for victim-survivors and their animals.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family, or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800respect.org.au for 24/7 confidential support. In an emergency, call 000.
To speak to our dedicated team about surrendering an animal, click here now.
