Youngstown Daily Legal News

Push made to include pets in orders of protection in Ohio

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: September 3, 2013

Rep. Michael Stinziano is calling for Ohio to get on board with the “national movement” toward the inclusion of pets in orders of protection.

“Orders of protection have been an effective tool in supporting victims of domestic violence/stalking since 1979,” said Stinziano, D-Columbus, noting that 24 states have moved to include pets.

“An increasing number of professionals, including but not limited to domestic violence service providers, social workers, family court judges and law enforcement personnel acknowledge a strong link between violence toward humans and violence toward animals.”

House Bill 243, jointly sponsored by Stinziano and Rep. Marilyn Slaby, R-Copley, would include the protection of companion animals in temporary protection orders, domestic violence protection orders, anti-stalking protection orders and related protection orders.

“Enacting legislation that includes pets in domestic violence protection orders does not imply that pets are more important than people but expands the role of an existing order of protection to effectively address a well-documented and potentially critical barrier to human safety,” Stinziano said.

The bill states a court may include any companion animal that is in the complainant’s or alleged victim’s residence within the scope of a protection order and may issue additional orders as it considers appropriate for the protection of the animal.

Stinziano pointed to a 1997 national survey of domestic violence shelters conducted by university researchers that found 71 percent of battered women reported that their abusers had also harmed, killed or threatened their pets.

“In 2004, a survey conducted in the Columbus City Prosecutor’s Office found that 32 percent of domestic violence clients with pets reported their pets had been seriously harmed, threatened with harm or killed in an attempt to prevent the abused person from leaving or force them to return home,” Stinziano said.

“In 2010, the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, recognizing the importance of addressing companion animals in domestic abuse situations, formed the Steering Committee on Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse.”

Stinziano said children who witness animal abuse are impacted in several ways.

“Children often intervene to protect pets from abuse or may allow themselves to be victimized to save their pet from being harmed or killed,” he said. “Over time, these children may even become desensitized to the inhumane treatment of animals.”

Stinziano added that children who are victims of family violence are nearly three times more likely to engage in animal cruelty than children who aren’t exposed to violence.

“A 2005 study revealed that 36.8 percent of boys and 29.4 percent of girls who were victims of violence, including physical and sexual abuse, abused the family pet,” he said. “This behavior is often symptomatic of future abuse toward humans.”

In addition to its other aims, HB 243 would require a child who is adjudicated a delinquent child for cruelty to a companion animal to undergo a psychological evaluation and, if recommended, counseling.

The proposal states the evaluation would determine if the child needs individual or family counseling and shall make a recommendation as to the frequency and the length of time that the counseling should occur.

“If individual or family counseling is recommended by the evaluation, the court shall require the counseling to take place and shall establish the frequency and the length of time of the counseling. The court may order the parent, guardian or other person having care of the child to pay the costs of the evaluation, any counseling or both,” HB 243 states.

Stinziano said research has documented a relationship between childhood histories of animal cruelty and patterns of chronic interpersonal aggression.

“While not every child who abuses animals is destined to become a serious offender, it is important to note that of the nine school shootings between 1996 and 1999, over half of the shooters had histories of animal cruelty,” he said.

“Responding to early acts of animal cruelty is critical toward effective intervention and treatment.”

If the measure is signed into law, HB 243 requires the court to impose a term of basic probation supervision or intensive probation supervision for an offender who is guilty of animal abuse if the individual is not already undergoing counseling.

HB 243 has gained bipartisan support from Reps. Nickie Antonio, Peter Beck, Andrew Brenner, Nicholas Celebrezze, Mike Curtin, Teresa Fedor, Ron Gerberry, Cheryl Grossman, Robert Hagan and Michael Henne.

The bill is awaiting a committee assignment.

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