ACT New Zealand announced a new family violence policy on 5 July 2026. The policy would make it a serious crime to harm or threaten someone's pet as a way to control or threaten them in an abusive relationship. The maximum punishment would be seven years in prison.

Karen Chhour, ACT's spokesperson on family violence and the government's minister responsible for preventing family violence, announced the policy at a Pet Refuge facility. The package includes five different parts — some are new laws, and others are changes to how police operate.

What the policy would do

The main part is a new law that would make it illegal to harm or threaten a pet to control someone. It would also make it harder for abusers to take away, sell, or give away a victim's pet. When a court issues a Protection Order — a court order that tells an abuser what they can and cannot do — the pet cannot be left with the person who is abusive.

Police would also have to record information about pets when they respond to family violence calls. This means animal information would be part of the official record from the start. Police would also be allowed to take a pet to a safe place — like a Pet Refuge or the SPCA — if the animal is in danger or if the abuser is using it to threaten the victim.

Why Chhour thinks this matters

Chhour gave two main reasons for the policy. According to RNZ, she said abusive partners are almost 11 times more likely to hurt an animal than partners in normal relationships. She also said more than half of family violence victims said they stayed in an abusive relationship because they were worried about what would happen to their pets.

That second number is important. If a lot of victims stay in dangerous situations because they can't take their pets with them, then the new laws about protecting pets and removing them to safety would do something different from just punishing abuse — they would make it easier for people to leave.

What Pet Refuge said

Pet Refuge is an organisation that looks after animals belonging to family violence victims. Its founder, Julie Chapman, supported the policy. She said it recognises that abusers use people's love for their pets to threaten and control victims. The fact that ACT announced the policy at a Pet Refuge location meant the organisation was part of the announcement.

How this fits into New Zealand law

New Zealand has been slowly adding more protections against coercive control — the pattern of behaviour that abusers use to take away someone's freedom and power. A new law about harming pets would add another specific type of abusive behaviour that the courts could punish.

It's not yet clear if this policy would get support from other political parties. Chhour is a minister in the National/ACT/New Zealand First government, but this was announced as an ACT party policy. To become law, it would need support from the government or be introduced as a private member's bill — a bill introduced by an individual MP outside of government business.

The requirement for police to record pet information might not sound dramatic, but it could make a real difference. Right now, police don't systematically write down when pets are at a family violence callout. Having this information recorded would help investigators and prosecutors prove abuse and could help with both the new pet harm charge and other charges where animal harm is part of the pattern of how someone controls their partner.

ACT has not said when it plans to introduce the law. For now, the policy is only an ACT party position, not something the government has committed to doing.