IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 191 
Expressing support for the designation of May 2009 as ‘‘National Link 
Awareness Month’’ and recognizing the link between animal cruelty and 
other forms of societal violence. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2009 
Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. KUCINICH, 
Mr. COHEN, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. FARR, and Mr. HINCHEY) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judici-
ary, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of May 2009 as ‘‘Na-
tional Link Awareness Month’’ and recognizing the link 
between animal cruelty and other forms of societal vio-
lence. 
Whereas the link between animal cruelty, child abuse, domes-
tic violence, and elder abuse is a nationally recognized 
fact; 
Whereas each year, defenseless companion animals face the 
grim reality that they will be victims of domestic abuse; 
Whereas in a nationwide study, more than 71 percent of bat-
tered women reported that their abusers harmed, killed, 
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•HRES 191 IH 
or threatened their pets, and more than 75 percent of 
those incidents occurred in the presence of the women or 
their children; 
Whereas the American Veterinary Medical Association esti-
mates that 98 percent of Americans consider pets to be 
companions or members of the family, and that pets live 
most frequently in homes with children; 
Whereas abusers kill, harm, or threaten children’s pets to 
force the children to remain silent about sexual abuse; 
Whereas women and children remain in violent households 
out of fear that their abusers will harm their pets if they 
leave; 
Whereas children who grow up in an environment of animal 
abuse live in constant fear that a beloved family member 
will be harmed, and may even allow themselves to be 
abused to save their pets from harm; 
Whereas young children growing up in an environment of 
abuse may become desensitized to the inhumane treat-
ment of animals, and research indicates that children ex-
posed to domestic violence are nearly 3 times more likely 
to treat animals with cruelty than children who are not 
exposed to such violence; 
Whereas animal abuse is a serious crime and often an indi-
cator of other forms of societal violence, and the Amer-
ican Psychiatric Association considers animal cruelty one 
of the diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder; 
Whereas when animals are abused, people are at risk; 
Whereas in response to the growing awareness of domestic vi-
olence-related animal abuse, State legislatures are in-
creasingly enacting laws to encourage courts to include 
pets in domestic-violence protective orders and to broaden 
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•HRES 191 IH 
the scope of professionals required to intervene at the be-
ginning stages of family violence by reporting suspected 
cases of child or animal abuse; and 
Whereas the link between animal abuse and human violence 
was identified in the United States as early as 1894 by 
the American Humane Association, an organization with 
the mission of protecting both children and animals from 
mistreatment: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of ‘‘National 
Link Awareness Month’’; 
(2) recognizes that the link between animal cru-
elty and domestic violence is a national concern; and 
(3) recognizes that laws which recognize the 
link between animal abuse and domestic violence are 
critical in protecting countless domestic violence sur-
vivors and their pets. 
Æ 
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