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Legal Information: Federal

Domestic Violence in the Military

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Laws current as of June 21, 2024

Can my pet be included in an MPO?

Military-connected victims may request that their military protective order (MPO) include pet protection by mentioning their animals under Section 7(m), “Other specific provisions of this order” on DD Form 2873. Victims may also choose to include information regarding pets, including threats or harm to animals by the abuser, under Section 5 of the MPO form, “Information supporting issuance of this Military Protective Order.”1

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) recognizes how an abuser might use pets as a means to intimidate and threaten victims, and it makes communicating threats to injure a victim’s pet a crime.2

1 Military Protective Order, DD FORM 2873, February 2020
2 10 U.S.C. §§ 928b - Art. 128b; 915 - Art. 115

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