Beyond Mary Ellen Wilson: The Necessity for Collaboration between Social Workers and Animal Welfare Professionals

A profound relationship exists between interpersonal violence and animal abuse in household settings. As such, insufficient collaboration between social workers and animal welfare professionals does a disservice to their respective fields. A general understanding of the human-animal bond, animal wellbeing indicators and safety planning for companion animals could improve rapport between social workers and clients, while an understanding of human behavior would benefit aspects of animal welfare work, as humans are the primary perpetrators of animal abuse. This presentation will focus on the current roadblocks to collaboration between social workers and animal welfare professionals (namely: varied incentives in each field, resource competition and the common “if you love animals, you don’t care about people” misconception) and the potential successes of collaboration (as seen through the lens of the Mary Ellen Wilson case). I will juxtapose the Social Work Code of Ethics, the mission of the National Association of Social Workers and the mission statements of America’s largest animal welfare organizations (with a particular focus on The Humane Society of the United States) to grapple with competing interests in each field. Participants will gain a better understanding of the aims of social work education and animal welfare training, issues with regard to mandated reporting and underreporting in both fields and the importance of collaboration for lobby power. Participants will explore the social work and animal welfare fields, and will leave with a toolkit of methods and an awareness of opportunities to bring back to their agencies to encourage better collaboration between Social Work and Animal Welfare organizations.

Meredith Ashley Rettner is the consultant on issues of Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse for Humane Society University. She also serves as Judaism Liaison for the Faith Outreach Campaign at The Humane Society of the United States. Meredith received her MSW from Columbia University, where she served on the Social Work Review Journal Editorial Board. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with her BA from Washington University in Saint Louis. Meredith worked on behalf of crime victims for the NYC Department of Probation, Henry Street Settlement, the Missouri Crime Victim Advocacy Center and in refugee camps in Sierra Leone.