Application for protection order — family violence — psychological abuse — ill-treatment of pet — pet abuse — Family Violence Act 2018, ss 9, 11 & 103 — Property (Relationships) Act 1976 — Animal Welfare Act 1999 — KM v TVL [2014] NZCA 218 — JMC v WMC FC Tauranga FAM-2008-070-1728, 26 August 2009 — M v Police [2007] NZFLR 160 — K v New Zealand Police [2019] NZHC 1258 — Anita Killeen "Animal cruelty and family violence" [2018] NZLJ 254. The applicant had sought and been granted a without notice protection order against her former partner, including a special condition that she be allowed to retain the respondent's dog. The applicant had submitted that the respondent had abused the dog. The respondent sought a variation to the protection order removing the special condition, to enable him to proceed with a claim of ownership of the dog in the Disputes Tribunal. The provisions the Family Violence Act permit a court to make a protection order to protect a person from family violence, defined as physical, sexual or psychological abuse by a person in a family relationship. Psychological violence was extended under the new Act to include ill-treatment of a household pet or other animals. Ill-treatment carried the same meaning as in the Animal Welfare Act. The parties disagreed about who should own the dog and whether or not the dog had been mistreated. In considering the application, the Judge noted that such a special condition should not be used as a way to secure ownership of a pet. A special condition could be part of an interim order, and whether or not psychological abuse had occurred was to be determined on the facts at a full hearing. The Judge left the interim order in place until the substantive hearing. Judgment Date: 9 December 2020. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *