Full Breakdown
ACT Party Introduces Bill to Criminalise Use of Pets in Family Violence
7/6/2026, 4:10:50 AM
Proposed Bill to Criminalise Pet-Based Coercion
The ACT Party announced a legislative package that would make the use of companion animals as tools of intimidation in family-violence cases a criminal offence. The proposal amends the Crimes Act to create a specific offence of “coercion by animal abuse” carrying a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. It also tightens protection-order provisions so that a person subject to an order cannot withhold, sell, give away or otherwise dispose of a protected person’s pet. Courts would be required to assess which party is safest for the animal when a protection order involves a pet, and police would be mandated to record pets on family-harm forms and, where reasonable grounds exist, relocate them to secure facilities such as Pet Refuge or the SPCA.
Context: Pet Abuse in Domestic Violence and International Precedents
Abusers increasingly target pets to reinforce control over victims, a pattern documented by New Zealand’s only dedicated safehouse for animals in family-violence situations, Pet Refuge. The charity reported a 19 % rise in families assisted in 2025 compared with the previous year. Internationally, New South Wales (Australia) now includes threats to pets as a standard condition of every domestic-violence protection order, and more than 40 U.S. states have enacted comparable provisions. ACT argues that New Zealand lags behind these jurisdictions.
Key Actors
- Karen Chhour – ACT’s family and sexual-violence spokeswoman and Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence.
- ACT Party – Centre-right political party proposing the bill ahead of the 2026 election.
- Pet Refuge – Auckland-based charity operating the nation’s sole safehouse for animals caught in family-violence situations.
- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – Potential recipient of relocated pets under the proposed police powers.
Legislative Details and Statistics
- Penalty: Up to seven years’ imprisonment for coercion by animal abuse.
- Protection-order amendment: Bars disposal of a victim’s pet by the offender.
- Court-placement rule: Determines the safest caretaker for the animal when disputes arise.
- Police authority: Mandatory pet recording on family-harm forms; power to move at-risk animals to secure shelters.
- Pet Refuge data: 19 % increase in families assisted in 2025.
- Study cited by ACT: More than half of victims with pets avoid leaving abusive relationships due to concern for the animal’s safety.
Official Statements & Responses
ACT spokeswoman Karen Chhour emphasized that victims should not have to choose between personal safety and the welfare of a beloved pet. She noted that current police response often leaves the animal with the alleged abuser, providing offenders an additional lever of control. Chhour framed the bill as a necessary alignment with legal frameworks already adopted in New South Wales and numerous U.S. states, asserting that “doing nothing is not an option.” The party pledged that, if elected, the measures would simplify the process for victims to leave abusive homes without abandoning their animal family members.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Public commentary from opposition parties or law-enforcement agencies on the proposed amendments was not present in the source material, leaving a gap in the broader political discourse. Additionally, the sources do not provide independent assessments of how the new powers would be operationalised by police or courts.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Victims of family violence should never have to choose between their own safety and the safety of the pet they love,” — Karen Chhour, ACT family and sexual-violence spokeswoman
- “Family violence isn’t just about physical abuse. Perpetrators use threats against beloved pets as another way to intimidate and trap their victims.” — Karen Chhour
- “Right now, if police attend a family violence callout, a victim may escape while the family pet is left behind with the alleged abuser,” — Karen Chhour
- “doing nothing is not an option” — Karen Chhour
What’s Next
Should ACT secure a governing role after the 2026 election, the party intends to introduce the amendment to the Crimes Act and the associated protection-order reforms during its first parliamentary session. Implementation would require police training on pet-recording protocols and the establishment of clear guidelines for animal relocation to facilities such as Pet Refuge or the SPCA. Monitoring the bill’s impact on victim safety and animal welfare will likely become a focus of subsequent policy reviews.
