Results
The online questionnaire collected 161 responses from veterinary professionals in the UK.
Current awareness of the connection between domestic violence and animal abuse
A multiple-choice question( to which more than one answer could be selected) regarding the definition of animal abuse found that 97.5 % of respondents considered physical abuse as a form of animal abuse. Neglect was recognised as animal abuse by 96.3 %, and 93.8 % considered withholding veterinary treatment and sexual abuse to be forms of animal abuse; 89.4 % noted that emotional abuse was a form of animal abuse, and abandonment was considered abuse by 83.2 %. The majority( 81.4 %) of the respondents indicated that they were aware of the links between domestic violence and animal abuse( Figure 1).
The responses in the free-text answer box for this question included respondents noting that although they were aware of the connection, it is something that the profession as a whole requires more education on.
When questioned regarding the treatment of patients with suspected non-accidental injuries, 59.6 % of participants reported having treated patients with a history inconsistent with the injuries presented; 19.3 % had treated patients with repetitive injuries. When considering injuries suspected of not being accidental, the most common injuries seen by respondents were fracture injuries( 36 %), poisoning incidents( 26.1 %), injuries due to the performance of a home surgery( 18 %) and burns( 15.5 %)( Figure 2).
In the free-text box for this question, a common response was that it can be difficult to establish whether the injuries a patient had presented with were non-accidental. Furthermore, some participants reported
Figure 1. UK veterinary professionals ' reported awareness of links between domestic violence and animal abuse.
Figure 2. Cases of non-accidental injury seen by veterinary professionals.
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