Pets, families and interagency working

All agencies, professions and individuals who have contact with children have a duty to safeguard them. Government guidance has highlighted the need for agencies to work together and share information to achieve this aim. It has been suggested that organisations that work with animals should be included in the safeguarding agenda on the basis that there may be an association between cruelty to animals and family violence. This POSTnote examines the evidence base for this assumption, and the rationale for cross-reporting between different agencies.