Target: Shabana Mahmood MP, UK Home Office
Goal: Create a national animal cruelty registry to help identify dangerous offenders and prevent domestic abuse and homicide.
A mother is campaigning for a new law after her daughter was murdered by a husband with a documented history of cruelty toward animals. Research and frontline experience show that violence against animals is often an early warning sign of escalating harm toward people, particularly in domestic settings. Despite this well-established link, the United Kingdom still has no national system to track individuals who harm or kill animals.
The campaign, known as Holly’s Law, calls for the creation of a nationwide animal cruelty registry. Such a registry would allow authorities, charities, and safeguarding professionals to identify repeat offenders and intervene earlier. In this case, the offender had previously harmed animals in acts of coercive control, behavior that experts say often traps victims in abusive relationships and prevents escape.
Animal welfare charities, domestic abuse advocates, and former senior police officers support this call, stressing that taking animal cruelty seriously is a proven way to protect people. This petition urges the government to act decisively and close a critical gap in public safety and safeguarding.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear MP Mahmood,
We are writing to urge the urgent introduction of a national animal cruelty registry as proposed under Holly’s Law. The brutal murder of Holly Bramley by her husband followed a pattern that experts have long warned about: escalating violence that began with cruelty toward animals and coercive control through harm to pets.
Former senior police officers, domestic abuse specialists, and animal welfare charities have repeatedly documented how animal abuse is used to intimidate partners and predict future violence. More than a third of women report staying in abusive homes because they have no safe options for their animals. Without a registry, warning signs are missed and opportunities for prevention are lost.
We respectfully call on the Home Office to establish a nationwide animal cruelty registry, integrate it into safeguarding and policing systems, and recognise animal abuse as a serious public safety indicator. Protecting animals is inseparable from protecting people, and decisive action now can save lives.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office
