Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are officially over. (He filed for divorce this week. Our tears are only just drying.) While it’s been reported that a nice tidy prenup will avoid any bickering over property, the question arises – what about the other members of their family? What about their fifteen pets?
I don’t know about you, but the Liley/Miam brood wasn’t on my radar until, like, now. I had no idea that the couple shared seven dogs, three cats, two horses, two mini horses – and a pig. While the details of their menagerie might conjure images of a Dr Seuss story or similar, TMZ reported that Miley will have full custody of the whole gang.
So: how does this kind of thing work, legally speaking? Can Liam take the ponies on alternate weekends? Well, I’ve been googling so you don’t have to. First things first, pet custody after divorce works differently in the UK and US – specifically in California, where a law passed late last year means that ‘companion animals’ are treated differently to other ‘property’. AB 2274 also allows courts to arrange shared custody agreements for pets, and Animal Legal Defense Fund’s website explains that ‘Though still classified as personal property, California’s new law aligns with the way most people view their animal companions — as family members — and acknowledges that animals are fundamentally distinct from other forms of property.’
How about on this side of the pond? Turns out that, if you get divorced in the UK, Fido isn’t technically treated any differently – legally speaking – to that sofa you bought together all those years ago. If pet custody is disputed, judges can simply go off evidence of ownership (so hang on to those emails from the kennel, or your receipt from a breeder, especially if you’re not married).
That being said, judges do tend to make decisions based on who did the most caring for a particular animal. ‘UK law does not make any provision for how a court will decide who gets to keep the family pet. However the main factor which may contribute to their decision will be who devoted the most time to caring for the pet,’ says unlockthelaw.co.uk, which cites a 2011 case when ‘a judge refused to make an order for transfer of the family dog to the wife in a divorce case as the dog had principally been looked after by the husband.’
As Miley adopted most of the pets herself, her custody of them squares with legal precedents. And while Liam could challenge it, TMZ reported that he’s not planning to take any action – fingers crossed the horses don’t pine for him too desperately. Won’t somebody think of the (seven) dogs??