Last Tuesday we welcomed a full house of delegates, guests and speakers from across a wide range of sectors including veterinary and animal welfare professions, domestic and sexual abuse services, child welfare experts, social work, policing, the judiciary and more.
Bringing a wealth of expertise from GB, NI and Ireland, together the subject matter expert speakers delivered sessions on domestic abuse, child abuse, policing, ‘the link’, specialist domestic abuse animal fostering services, and social work involving Asking About the Animals.
Another section outlined some differences in how animal welfare enforcement works in Northern Ireland. This provided the chance to highlight just a few of the challenges facing this aspect of the animal welfare field in NI, and the opportunities that these particular challenges provide for all agencies striving to work together to improve outcomes for all victim-survivors of domestic abuse, whether they have skin, fur, feathers or scales.
Speakers included:
- Kerrie Flood, CEO, Fermanagh and Omagh Women’s Aid
- Ineke Houtenbos, Senior Training & Development Consultant, NSPCC NI
- Ryan Somerville, Head of Policy and Research Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, The Executive Office
- Detective Superintendent Lindsay Fisher, KPM, Public Protection Branch, PSNI
- Lauren Suitor, Co-ordinator Cats Protection Lifeline, specialist domestic abuse cat fostering
- Dr. Paula Boyden, The Links Group Chair
- David Martin FRCVS, Group Head of Animal Welfare IVC Evidensia and veterinary expert witness
- Rebecca Stephens, Associate Professor Social Work, Uni. of Sussex, Links Group Trustee
- Dr. Andrea Lynch, Strategic Delivery Lead, The Links Group
We are indebted to all our speakers, who give their time and expertise pro bono. Particular thanks are due to Ineke Houtenbos, NSPCC, and Lindsay Fisher, PSNI, for joining us again following on from our post-Covid restart here in February 2023 and providing such impactful presentations.
We were wowed by Kerrie Flood, Fermanagh and Omagh Women’s Aid for her powerful explanation of ‘why she doesn’t just leave’, and by Ryan Somerville of the Executive Office who tied the day together and helped us to end on a note of hope, outlining the EO’s ongoing plans for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in NI.
It was heartening to see the response of the safeguarding community in NI in their attendance, interest and contribution to the day. This was matched by the veterinary and animal welfare community, with NIVA/BVA NI, AVSPNI, vets from Northern Ireland and Ireland, researchers, DAERA, and a large cohort of veterinary nurses providing input from the floor.
The conversations throughout the breaks, during the final panel session, and following the event demonstrate the commitment to embedding an understanding of ‘The Link’ in all our practices, and to ensure processes can include management of this important aspect of Protecting Animals, Protecting People in Northern Ireland – please visit our online learning hub to access this free online modular course, made possible by the generous support of Pets Foundation.
Thank you again to the staff at The Dunadry who always look after us so well and provide such a welcoming environment for a difficult subject.
If you missed out on this event and want to join us on future events, we’ll be in Edinburgh on 24/03/26 and in Brighton on 21/05/26. We couldn’t do this without the ongoing financial, moral and administrative support from our colleagues at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association – huge thanks to Elle for all her hard work on this. We were glad to be able to run a raffle on the day in aid of PetSavers, the clinical grant awarding arm of BSAVA, which was won by Sheila Simons – congratulations Sheila!
