CYF and SPCA tackle abuse as a team

In what is believed to be a world-first, Child, Youth and Family and the SPCA will join forces this week to combat abuse in New Zealand.

Tomorrow, the two groups will sign an agreement for the SPCA to report signs of child abuse when inspecting or taking animals from homes and, in return, CYF social workers to report neglected or abused animals they spot while working with families.

The agreement is believed to be the first in the world to introduce a reporting protocol between a national child protection agency and a national animal welfare society.

SPCA chief executive Robyn Kippenberger said the correlation between animal abuse and human abuse was widely documented.

"That animal abuse is part of a web of factors that make up family violence is now generally accepted," Ms Kippenberger said.

"Our animal welfare officers, when inspecting or uplifting animals subject to cruelty, may be the first to see signs of abuse of children in the family."

Ms Kippenberger said she believed putting in place mechanisms for cross reporting would allow the SPCA to respond more quickly to children, young people and animals at risk in their homes.

CYF spokeswoman Mel Collier said the agreement was formalising an existing informal reporting system.

"They were letting us know on an informal basis anyway. So now, it just gives our community liaison social workers the opportunity to go and work with SPCA staff and kind of wrap that support on them and teach them some skills on how to deal with it."

- NZPA