Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on the use of pets as coercive control in domestic abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Act includes the first statutory definition of domestic abuse, outlining that this can encompass a wide range of behaviours that can affect many aspects of a victim’s life and relationships, including those with pets.

Both the draft Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance and upcoming Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance recognise that pets can be used as a means to perpetrate domestic abuse, including to coerce or exert control over a victim. While the relationship between controlling or coercive behaviour and using pets to perpetrate this is recognised by the Home Office, we do not currently hold data specifically on the use of pets as part of controlling or coercive behaviour.

More generally, data shows that the number of recorded controlling or coercive behaviour offences has increased year on year, with 24,856 controlling or coercive behaviour offences being recorded in 2019/20 (ONS, 2020).