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Finally we have 'The Pet Abduction Act 2024'.

All the hard work finally paid off! Following a long +10 year campaign to get the theft of our family pets to be made a specific criminal offence, and an important additional fight to get cats included following their exclusion from the Pet Abduction Offence within the dropped Kept Animals Bill, finally the 'Pet Abduction Act 2024' has made it onto the statute books!

What is the Pet Abduction Act 2024?

Following the significant increase in pet theft during the pandemic, the government appointed a Pet Theft Taskforce to investigate. Their recommendation included the creation of a Pet Abduction Offence in recognition that pets are not inanimate objects as they were previously classified under the Theft Act 1968, but sentient, loved family members who have the capacity to suffer when stolen. The word 'abduction' was more appropriate since it places the emphasis firmly on the welfare of the pet, whilst recognising the impact on the owner.

The Act comprises two separate offences: Dog Abduction and Cat Abduction. It will be a criminal offence to "take" and "detain" a dog however, only the 'taking' of a cat will fall within the scope of the Act. This is to reflect the different lifestyle and freedoms that our family cats enjoy, leaving them to continue to roam and 'drop in' to neighbours gardens and houses without triggering the offence.

Neither of these offences will apply if the cat or dog has lived with the accused at anytime.

The offence allows the provision of 'reasonable excuse'. This might include someone who can show that they had 'lawful authority' or being concerned that a cat or dog has become displaced from its home or is looking in need of veterinary treatment or care. (It is worth noting that in such instances there should be a reasonable expectation of evidence that veterinary care had been sought and the dog or cat had been scanned for a microchip. Scanning is provided free of charge at any veterinary surgery. If any pet is injured please call RSPCA National Call Centre 0300 1234 999 and a log number will be issued, providing £60 of charity funded veterinary treatment).

We are pleased that this new offence will enable the courts to send those convicted of pet abduction to prison for up to 5 years and/or to issue a fine. This new legislation will help provide a significant deterrent to dog and cat thieves and will oblige police forces across England and Northern Ireland to record pet theft data with a new identifying code, ensuring that we can at least start collecting meaningful data and build a more accurate picture as to the scale and nature of cat and dog theft.

This new legislation does not extend to Scotland and Wales so we will be lobbying the Scottish parliament and the Welsh Assembly to introduce a similar Pet Abduction law - to include family cats too.

Pet Theft Awareness is delighted with this new legislation and would like to thank our campaign partners, Cats Protection, and everyone in parliament across all the political parties who made this a much needed reality!

Pet Abduction Bill

Anna Firth's Bill is progressing well.

(full title) A Bill to create offences of dog abduction and cat abduction and to confer a power to make corresponding provision relating to the abduction of other animals commonly kept as pets.

See the Bill's progress here.

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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