1.       Aims of SIG

 This new Special Interest Group aims to build knowledge exchange and an evidence base on social worker’s encounters with animals in their practice, with a particular emphasis on sharing stories, mitigating risk, and learning from good practice.  Recent research (Turner, 2025) in the UK has highlighted significant cultural and wellbeing issues associated with practitioner’s encountering animals in social work practice, as well as risks to all involved. In Fostering and Adoption work, social workers are required to assess the safety of dogs with no appropriate training, heightening risks for all involved ( Turner, 2025). There is also an established link between domestic abuse and domestic animals, with campaigns such as Rubys Law now seeking to make changes to existing family law in England and Wales, in order that the impact on pets is protected in cases of domestic abuse.  Equine therapy is also a topic of great interest internationally, particularly in the field of mental health (Stacy and Shabbar, 2025). 

Despite these issues and their relevance to social work, the area of animals is largely neglected in terms of academic study, apart from equine therapy, which has a growing body of interest. This group will promote interest and understanding of the significant links between animals and the health and safety of social workers, as well as those who use their services. Additionally, the group will act as a hub to identify and promote knowledge exchange and impact opportunities, as well as academic research. 

Objectives of SIG 

·         To promote interest and understanding of the multiple roles in which animals interact within social work practice.

·         To instigate national and international academic research and writing on animals and the parts they play in social work practice. 

·         To identify and promote knowledge exchange and impact opportunities for animal related research in social work

·         To promote the development of an evidence base in this under-researched topic

Scope of SIG

The SIG will focus on understanding the nature and extent of social work encounters with animals, as well as promoting knowledge exchange and building an evidence base, as well as influencing policy where appropriate.  

The aim of the group is to promote both national and international understanding of the issues surrounding social work encounters with animals, including the significant correlation with domestic abuse. This is a largely un-researched area in social work and enables the group to extend dialogue with other professions, including animal and equine therapists and behaviourists, as well as the Police, and other first responders. Findings from Turner’s (2025) study on dogs and social work showed significant lack of understanding between social workers and first responders, where dog aggression was involved.

The SIG will aim to involve the regulator and other professional bodies, for example Coram BAAF, in discussions about policy, as well as exploring how social work interventions in this area might be improved. 

The group also aims to support scholars at all academic career stages and will seek in the longer-term to provide activities for early career scholars and doctoral students. 

The group will aim to meet annually at the ESWRA conference but will also meet regularly online. As this is a largely un-researched area we hope that there will be interest from other SIG groups. A podcast with BASW has already been completed and released (2025) , whilst the applicant’s article on dogs and social work (Turner, 2025) has attracted more than average interest in terms of views, indicating widespread interest in this topic. 

Convenors : Professor Denise Turner, University of Hertfordshire