The Links Group were pleased to again be part of the speaker line-up at the recent Causeway Coast Dog Rescue annual companion animal welfare conference last week in Belfast.
Held in the beautiful surroundings of Riddel Hall, Queen’s University Belfast, this was a busy and invigorating day following on from a round table in Stormont the afternoon before. Both events stimulated much discussion around dog breeding regulations, Lucy’s Law (third-party puppy & kitten sales) in NI, greyhound racing and welfare, Ruby’s Law (protecting pets in family law), coercive control and animal abuse/’the link’ and pandemic puppies.
The theme of 2024’s conference was collaboration, when Links Group chair Dr. Paula Boyden spoke alongside Naturewatch Foundation’s Mark Randell on the link between abuse of animals and abuse of people, and how taking crimes against animals seriously can help create safer communities for people too.
This year’s theme built on collaboration into reform, and Strategic Delivery Lead Andrea Lynch’s presentation focused on the need for effective multi-agency working in Northern Ireland (and beyond!). Actively listening to and working with subject matter experts from domestic abuse agencies, children and youth services, housing, policing, addiction services, probation, enforcement, the judiciary, and more is essential to ensure that any proposed legislative changes can truly encompass the needs of all victim survivors of domestic abuse, whether they have skin, scales, fur or feathers.
We also spoke about our new training resources and courses on Protecting Animals, Protecting People for all those working in the fields of safeguarding of people and animal welfare, and gave our thanks again to Mark Randell and Naturewatch Foundation’s Protect Animals. Protect People campaign. An unanticipated question gave us the opportunity to discuss the free training we provide in this area for social workers, and in particular, the engagement we have with this sector in Northern Ireland.
As a reminder, Links Group trustee, Associate Professor in Social Work, and Co-Director of Education for the International Association of Veterinary Social Work, and the UK’s first Veterinary Social Worker (phew!) Rebecca Stephens has created a 35-minute video on “The Link and its relevance in social work and social care” which is freely accessible on our virtual learning hub. Rebecca has also developed the free downloadable interactive PDFs, also available on the resources tab on the hub, where you will also find lots more information, animations and videos on the intersection between abuse of animals and abuse of people.
Thank you to Tara Cunningham and all the team at CCDR for delivering another excellent forum to raise awareness and begin conversations on these areas, and for their hospitality. Thanks also to Agria Pet Insurance and GREY2KUSA Worldwide for making the event possible.
