Expert Calls for Mental Health Support for Animal Rescue Workers
The topic was discussed at a recent All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG) meeting
Dog expert calls for better mental health support for animal rescue workers at Parliament event on protecting pets in domestic abuse cases.
A leading canine welfare expert has called for urgent support for rescue workers exposed to the trauma of domestic abuse cases involving pets, during an emotional event at the Houses of Parliament this week.
Jo Middleton, director of Camden-based education provider Canine Principles, was among the speakers at Tuesday night’s All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG) meeting, titled Protecting Pets in Domestic Abuse, held in collaboration with the Naturewatch Foundation.
The event brought together campaigners, legal professionals, survivors, and MPs to highlight the crucial link between animal welfare and human safety, and to push for legal change to better protect both.
As part of her statement Jo announced the upcoming Level 3 Mental Health First Aid for Dog Rescue Workers course, being launched by the International School for Canine Psychology (ISCP) next month.
She said: “It is crucial for all rescue workers who are supporting animals who are themselves survivors of domestic abuse, to have access to a Mental Health First Aider specifically trained in dog rescue mental health first aid. These workers often carry the emotional weight of witnessing trauma second-hand, and ensuring their wellbeing is not only compassionate, but essential to sustainable rescue work and lowering team turnover and absences.”
The evening featured powerful testimonies and expert insights, including survivor Sharon Livermore MBE, who campaigns for every workplace to have a domestic abuse policy, and Catherine Haworth, who shared heartbreaking legal cases showing how pets are often used in coercive control.
A survivor also gave a moving account of her own experience of abuse, while Rosie Watson introduced the WEPROTECT app, a new tool offering immediate legal help to victims. Christina Warner, founder of #RubysLaw, continued her call for pets to be recognised as victims in their own right within family courts, and Mark Randell of Naturewatch Foundation spoke about his decades-long mission to end cruelty and exploitation.
Jo added: “It was an honour to be part of such an important and deeply moving evening, one that reinforced how vital it is to recognise the human and animal bond at the heart of so many domestic abuse cases. When we protect animals, we protect people too.”
Canine Principles will donate 50% of the profits from its forthcoming Symposium to Naturewatch Foundation, and the other 50% to A-Law, the UK Centre for Animal Law.
