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It's Not Too Late to Include Family Cats!

Cats are important members of the family but are constantly excluded from protective legislation. Help us change this as our cats deserve better.

Please let your MP know that we need cats to be included alongside dogs in the proposed Pet Abduction Offence in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. Cats are an increasing target of theft too!

View the template letter here.

The Cat Theft Report 2022 Summary Edition

The Cat Theft Report 2022 in Full

Cat Theft

BBC radio Suffolk daytime programme with Wayne Bavin speaking with Toni Clarke

Pet Abduction Petition

NEW LEGISLATION!

A new criminal offence for PET ABDUCTION is set to be introduced under government plans to crack down on pet theft following a reported rise in pets being stolen during the pandemic. The new law will recognise the welfare of animals and that pets are valued as more than property.

Pet Theft Taskforce delivers report with recommendations to tackle reported rise of pet theft
Government working with the police to improve recording and tracking of pet abduction cases
Improvements to pet microchipping processes to support the identification of lost and stolen dogs

Pet Theft Letter Templates

Please personalise and email to the various people and departments.

For the templates page click here

Results of 2021 PCC Survey

124,729 people responded to the online survey.

Conducted by Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne (in partnership with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners), the results of the survey send a strong message.

Key findings were:

97% of respondents said dog theft was a serious problem
22% knew someone whose dog had been stolen in the last year
78% of people to whom the question was applicable, said they had grown more fearful of taking their dog for a walk during the day
83% to whom the question was applicable had grown more fearful of taking their dog for a walk at night

View the survey results here

Iain Duncan-Smith MP in Parliament

Iain Duncan-Smith MP talks in Parliament about the need for much tougher sentences for Pet Theft and a categorisation that includes Pets/Dogs

The Scanning Petition

Create a single database of microchipped cats and dogs & make scanning mandatory

MPs Debate Pet Theft

October 19th 2020 saw the UK Government debate 'Pet Theft' in parliament as a result of the two petitions both exceeding the 100k signatures required.

The Hansard transcript can be read here:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-10-19/debates/7DB00823-5B7F-452D-8F36-B857FEDE682B/PetTheft

The video of the debate can be viewed click image:

We hope that progress has been made and that the government will serve the people and make 'Pet Theft' a specific criminal offence in the same way that 'scrap metal' and 'bike theft' are specific offences. Only then can the terrible crime be tackled and justice be served. How much longer can the government ignore the misery suffered at the hands of cruel pet thieves? Thank you to all the MPs who contributed and to Tom Hunt MP for leading the debate. /

THANK YOU!

Most MPs agree that pets are not replaceable objects.
Some MPs incorrectly assume that there is a "seven year sentance available to the courts for pet theft".
Why is this misleading? Because the theft of a pet would be heard in a magestrates court are limited to a maximum of a six month. As there is no minimum sentance the theft of a pet can receive no punishment!

To see the details and totals of both petitions click links:
Make pet theft crime a specific offence with custodial sentences: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300071
Compulsory to scan & check microchips to reunite stolen dogs, cats: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300010/

THE IMPORTANT NEXT STEP FOR #PETTHEFTREFORM
Write to your MP and tell them to attend any upcoming debates: http://www.stolenandmissingpetsalliance.co.uk/write-to-your-mp/
Please remember to correct any MPs if they reply with the standard and misleading "seven year" impossible punishment response.

Police, Pets, and Microchip Scanners

We contacted all the UK constabularies to see if they have enough scanners to deal with the current laws that go with dog and horse compulsory microchipping?

The NEW Scanning Petition

Please sign this petition to close the loopholes preventing missing microchipped dogs and cats from getting home.

Gizmo's Legacy parliamentary debate 17 June 2019

Please email your MP and tell them why you think it's important they should attend.

Find my MP

Your MP has been sent this PDF file.
View the full Gizmo's Legacy Information pack.

What is #PetTheftReform ?

Pet Theft Reform can be achieved by making minor revisions to existing legislation.

The 1968 Theft Act and 2016 updated guidelines: (fails to mention domestic pets anywhere within the current legislation which has led to confusion in the courts, as they continue to treat our pets as inanimate objects).

1. Reclassify Pet Theft as a specific crime in its own right within the Sentencing Guidelines, as is the case with vehicles and bicycles.

2. Revise the Sentencing Guidelines so the monetary value of a pet is no longer the main factor in sentencing an offender. The theft of a dog with a perceived monetary value of £50 should be treated the same as a dog valued at £5,000. As family members, pets are priceless and irreplaceable.

3. Aggravated sentence provision for pet theft to give the courts more extended discretion.

4. Treat pet theft as category two offence or above, to act as a serious deterrent.

Animal Welfare Act 2006:-

1. Add pet theft to the Animal Welfare Act, as proposed by Rt Hon Ross Thomson’s Pet (Theft) Bill.

The Microchipping Of Dogs (England) Regulations 2016:-

1. It is compulsory to microchip dogs but optional for veterinary practices and other animal-related organisations to scan. Making scanning and checking microchip registration compulsory will help reunite missing and stolen pets.

2. Cats and other pets could be included.

Pet thieves see Pet Theft as a low risk high reward crime and we need #PetTheftReform to protect our pets.

Please write to your MP: http://www.stolenandmissingpetsalliance.co.uk/write-to-your-mp/

Pet Theft Petition - Success!

Created by Dr Daniel Allen

Petition now closed with target achieved. Thank you to everyone who signed.

The purpose of this petition is to reclassify the theft of a pet to a specific crime in its own right.

Review the sentencing guidelines for theft offences, so that where the theft of a family pet is involved, monetary value is irrelevant for the categorisation of the crime for sentencing purposes.

Ensure Police Forces are given appropriate guidance and training to record and investigate cases.

More details

More than 60 dogs are stolen every week in England and Wales. Less than 5% of cases lead to convictions.

Pet theft is currently seen as no different to the theft of an inanimate object - despite pets being sentient beings. The theft of pets is generally categorised as robbery or burglary, but lead to minimal sentences. Enforcement of existing laws do not currently act as a deterrent or fit the crime itself.

For more information, please see: SAMPA: the Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance

Petition Response

Write to your MP

Write to your local MP asking for support in the ‘Reclassification of pet theft, tougher sentencing to act as a deterrent and the sentencing council to not just consider the monetary value of an irreplaceable family pet’

More information about wrting to your MP

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