6 Dec 2021
UK’s largest practice group has announced its system for reporting a suspicion of NAI will now be available to any vet working in any practice nationwide.
Joshua Silverwood
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Image © Adriana Morales / Pixabay.
The UK’s largest practice group is leading an ambitious initiative to tackle domestic abuse by offering more support for vets to report non‑accidental injuries (NAIs).
IVC Evidensia has announced its system for reporting a suspicion of NAI will now be available to any vet working in any practice nationwide.
David Martin, animal welfare advisor for IVC Evidensia, has been one of the driving forces behind the scheme, which has seen its first successful conviction as a result of the system.
Dr Martin detailed how the scheme being offered universally could significantly impact the lives of people in unsafe domestic situations around the country.
He said: “One of the things we have put in place is a 24/7 contact for a member of our NAI team. This is so that any member of our team – and now the whole profession – who has got a case they want to discuss can get support from another veterinary professional.
“If they decide they want to make a report then we will help direct them to the right place. We will facilitate and provide them with the right contact details.”
Dr Martin added: “If they are going to make a report about an animal, such as to the RSPCA or the Scottish SPCA, we will give them the contact details to provide details to their national control centres, but we will also follow up on that ourselves.
“We will let them know this is a call that has come from a professional and that it’s one the professional has not made lightly.
“We have helped a number of vulnerable animals; we have even had our first case that has gone through the court system and resulted in a conviction of someone who deliberately harmed – to the point that they killed – their dog.”
Statistics published by Dogs Trust in November found an overwhelming majority of domestic abuse cases in the home also involve an animal being abused by the perpetrator.
The research, by Refuge4Pets, found that in 88 per cent of cases of domestic abuse surveyed, an animal had also been abused. It also found that 1 in 10 cases involved an animal being killed as a means of intimidation.
Commenting on the statistics, Dr Martin said: “We know that 58 per cent of homes that have animal abuse going on within them also involve a child present.
“Children who are living in an environment where there is animal abuse going on are 60 times more likely to be abused themselves. These statistics are there and they are documented, but I don’t think they are particularly well known by the veterinary profession.”
The practice group has now released an online form where concerns can be expressed to another veterinary professional trained in handling NAI cases privately.
Additional support has been provided by the group in the form of three posters relaying vital information on the warning signs of NAI and where staff can go if they themselves are the victims of domestic abuse.
Dr Martin urged vets to use the service even if they are not entirely certain they are dealing with a potential case of NAI.
He added: “This is a whole team approach, not a vet in a consult room on their own making a diagnosis like they would for gastroenteritis or a dog with a skin condition.
“We have spent a lot of time teaching our staff that they are not judge and jury; they are just reporting that they have a suspicion of NAI here, but not reporting that there is absolutely a specific person harming a specific animal at a specific time.
“They don’t have to be absolutely certain – that sets the bar far too high for this. It’s that they have a reasonable suspicion that something is going on that shouldn’t be.”
The initiative continues after it was confirmed earlier this year that those found guilty of animal cruelty offences could face up to five years in prison after the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill was passed into law.
Commenting on the change, Dr Martin said it was well overdue and that a perceived lack of punishment was one of the biggest hurdles to reporting suspected cases of NAI.
He said: “There is certainly a view – to an extent – that if we want to report these things, but there is only going to be a slap on the wrist at the end of the day, then nothing significant is going to happen.
“That reduces the willingness of people to report if they don’t think there is going to be a proper consequence at the end of it.
“Now that we have the five-year sentence, I think that really reflects the true criminality of it.
“Any member of the profession who feels they may be dealing with an NAI, don’t be afraid to come forward and speak to us. We will help you. We will support you. We won’t pressure you into making any report.
“We have brought in experts from across the profession to help with this, so get in touch and we will do our best to support you.”
The online reporting form is available now.
