How Your Donations Helped Us Protect Vulnerable Animals and People in 2024
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the National Link Coalition continued to make remarkable progress this past year in helping multidisciplinary agencies prevent and respond to animal cruelty and neglect, domestic violence, child maltreatment, and elder abuse, by demonstrating how these forms of family violence are LINKed. On another page in our website you can read about what the Link message has accomplished since we started raising this concern many years ago. But here you can see what your donations have helped us accomplish this year to make families and communities safer:
LINK LEGISLATION
2024 saw a record 144 Link-themed bills introduced in 27 state legislatures, the U.S. Congress and Canada’s Parliament. We are encouraged that 21 of these measures have been signed into law. Among our notable successes:
Pennsylvania became the 41st state to allow pets to be included in protection orders.
Rhode Island became the 8th state to protect pets in divorce decrees.
Tennessee became the 20th state to allow veterinarians to report suspected animal abuse.
Utah expanded veterinarians’ ability to report suspected animal abuse.
Canada and California enacted Extreme Risk Protection Orders, prohibiting individuals who harmed or threatened domestic violence survivors’ pets, or who are animal cruelty offenders, from owning firearms.
Oregon increased the penalties for animal abuse Linked with DV and children.
Pennsylvania and Colorado added a history of animal cruelty to criteria for child custody decisions.
New York and Florida enacted “Hope Cards” for domestic violence survivors.
Iowa expanded its definition of and penalty for animal sexual abuse.
Pennsylvania allowed courthouse dogs to comfort child abuse victims.
Vermont, Massachusetts and New South Wales and Tasmania in Australia defined threats or harm to animals as coercive control.
Massachusetts reduced cross-reporting restrictions.
New Mexico funded safe havens for the animals of domestic violence victims.
COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS
• We compiled the first comprehensive state-by-state list of mandated reporters of animal abuse in collaboration with MandatedReporter.com
• We are working with the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs & Partnerships.
• We are helping to develop a Toolkit for the Alliance for Hope’s Family Justice Centers.
• We expanded our ongoing collaborations with the Animal Welfare Institute, the National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges, and the International Association of Veterinary Social Workers.
LINK PROGRAMS
We spotlighted many illuminating programs, including:
• We produced a video describing how a DV shelter became pet-friendly.
• The Urban Resource Institute published a blueprint for change and a “Pawprint” for action.
• A veterinary partnership was established with a Wichita domestic violence shelter for pet safekeeping.
• A North Carolina prison dog-training program is giving offenders a new leash on life.
• A Minnesota collaborative fosters pets of domestic violence survivors.
• The Animal Welfare Institute launched a center to analyze FBI NIBRS data.
• Purina unveiled a “Courageous Together” statue to promote pet-friendly shelters.
Connecticut published a brochure to stimulate DCF cross-reporting of suspected animal abuse.
• A social workers’ guide addresses elders’ issues in aging with pets.
• Four states now have fully-funded statewide prosecutors of animal cruelty.
• Rhode Island became the 47th state to have domestic violence pet co-sheltering.
THE LINK-LETTER
We debuted our new format – to rave reviews!
We added over 400 new subscribers in 2024 – an 8% increase.
We published 263 articles addressing The Link.•
GLOBAL LINK AWARENESS
• As Link awareness has grown exponentially, 28% of references in our bibliography originate in foreign countries.
• We conducted trainings and wrote an Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work Journal article on closing “The PAWS Gap” in social work training and practice.
• We presented podcasts and radio interviews.
• We co-wrote the lead chapter on The Link in the International Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy.
• Among the LINK-Letter’s 263 articles were 70 about exciting news and research in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea. Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
TARGETED OUTREACH TO THE MILITARY
Thanks to a grant from The Latham Foundation, we dramatically expanded our outreach to make active and retired military service members, their families, and base family advocacy units aware of how The Link impacts the unique nature of military homes. In 2024 we gave military-themed trainings to:
• Institute on Violence, Abuse & Trauma
• Justice Clearinghouse
• National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges
• National Resource Center on Military-Connected Families and the Courts
• National Organization for Victim Assistance
• U.S. Department of the Army Victim Advocates
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
We also published 6 articles in The LINK-Letter, The Latham Letter, and The Juvenile & Family Court Journal about unique aspects of The Link in military families.
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Our bibliography of Link research now contains nearly 2,400 references. New research published in 2024 included:
• Australian and British veterinarians got resource materials to recognize and respond to domestic violence and animal abuse
• The impact of forced separation from pets during DV, disasters and homelessness was examined.
• Strategies were offered to help the homeless maintain their pets.
• The World Small Animal Veterinary Association called for more training on animal welfare.
• Dogfighting was seen as part of an international crime network.
• Animal cruelty and gender-based violence were seen as based on male domination.
• Strangulation was called a risk factor in both domestic violence and animal cruelty.
• A study was conducted on the status of courtroom animal advocacy programs.
• Animal shelters were seen to have significant impacts on human society.
• Different types of intimate partner violence were Linked with which animal species are abused.
• Animal abuse was seen as being Linked with a “dark tetrad” of antisocial behaviors.
• Veterinarians were urged to be the first responders in animal cruelty cases.
• Link laws were seen as a key to redefining pets as “more-than-property.”
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
National Link Coalition members, allies and advocates conducted 139 trainings to audiences including:
• Advanced Animal Control Officer Certification Course
• American Psychological Association
• American Veterinary Medical Association Convention
• Animal Abuse Leadership Summit
• Animal Crimes Conference
• Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Animal Protection New Mexico
• Arkansas Adult Protective Services
• ASPCA
• Associacão Plano I (Portugal)
• Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
• Bernalillo County, N.M. Sheriff’s Office
• Bermuda Animal Wardens
• BestyBnB
• Blank Children’s Hospital, Des Moines, Iowa
• British Small Animal Veterinary Association
• Canadian Prosecution of Animal Abuse conference
• Colorado Animal Welfare Conference
• Connecticut Department of Children & Families
• Co-Sheltering Collaborative
• Delaware State Office of Animal Welfare
• Don’t Forget the Pets
• Father Joe’s Villages
• Florida Animal Protection & Advocacy Association
• Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence
• Franklin County, Ohio Domestic & Juvenile Court of Common Pleas
• Guilford County, N.C. Department of Social Services
• Harbor House
• Human-Animal Violence Education Network
• Humane Society of the U.S. Expo
• Indiana University School of Social Work Alumni Association
• Institute on Violence Abuse & Trauma – Hawaii International Summit
• Institute on Violence, Abuse & Trauma – San Diego Summit
• International Association of Veterinary Social Work Summit
• International Conference on Child & Family Maltreatment
• International Family Justice Center Conference
• International Society for Animal Forensic Sciences
• International Veterinary Social Work Summit
• International Virtual Meeting in Animal Forensic Sciences
• Japanese Animal Literacy Research Institute
• Justice Clearinghouse
• Keystone Link Coalition
• The Links Group UK
• Lucy’s Project (Australia)
• Maine Animal Control Association
• Mens en Dier Somen Naar Herstel) (The Netherlands)
• Michigan Pet Alliance Conference
• My Dog Is My Home
• National Adult Protective Services Association
• National Animal Cruelty Prosecution Conference
• National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life
• National Conference on Juvenile Justice
• National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges’ Annual Conference
• National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges’ Judicial Institute
• National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges’ National Resource Center on Military-Connected Families and the Courts
• National Organization for Victim Assistance
• National Victim Assistance Academy
• New Mexico Judicial Law Enforcement Training Conference
• North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine
• Oregon Animal Control Council
• Oregon Department of Human Services
• RedRover
• Saskatchewan SPCA
• South Carolina Animal Care & Control Association
• Tennessee Animal Care & Control Conference
• United States Army Victim Advocates
• Universidade de Lusófona (Portugal)
• University of Florida Animal Abuse & Interpersonal Violence course
• University of Florida Animal Forensics Conference
• University of Missouri Law Enforcement Training Institute
• University of New Mexico
• Urban Resource Institute
• Veterans Administration Health Care Services
• Washington Animal Control Association