The nation rejoices the very welcome news, that finally, Government has passed Legislation to make pet abduction a criminal offence.
Under the new Pet Abduction Act 2024 – which was a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Anna Firth MP and Lord Black of Brentwood and supported by the Government – anyone found guilty of stealing a pet in England or Northern Ireland will face up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.
Recognition of Sentient Beings
In my podcast, I’ve chatted with SAMPA (The Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance) several times, not least with Sir Duncan Smith and Dr Daniel Allen.
The new law, whilst brilliant news, has been campaigned for years and falling on deaf ears for decades, so it’s testament to the hard work of the Pet Theft Taskforce for not giving up!
The new law recognises that cats and dogs are not inanimate objects, but sentient beings capable of experiencing distress and other emotional trauma when they are stolen from their owners or keepers.
Pandemic Pet Thefts
Evidence from the Pet Theft Taskforce suggests around 2,000 dog and over 400 cat theft crimes were reported to police in 2020, causing considerable distress for owners and their pets alike.
It was late last summer, still in the wake of Government shelving of what was called the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, when I chatted to Dr Daniel Allen, Animal Geographer at Keele University and champion of Pet Theft Reform/Taskforce.
Dr Dan, along with SAMPA and Vets Get Scanning, continued to lobby Government for a separate law with appropriate penalties for stealing all pets as the victims of organised crime for decades.
Brought to a head in the pandemic when the demand for puppies outstretched supply, along with prices for puppies soaring to ridiculous levels, canny criminal activity reached preposterous levels with scamming, stealing dogs in daylight, breaking into private gardens and more.
A Leap Forwards for Animal Welfare
As a crime defined under the antiquated Theft Act 1968, dogs were classed in law as chattel. This meant that stealing dogs was a low-risk, high-gain business for criminals. The penalty was the same for stealing a laptop, a phone or a car.
During the pandemic there was much talk of creating a specific law that factored in the enormous emotional attachment between dogs and their owners and the trauma to individuals suffering from this ‘abduction’.
Just nine months after the airing of my podcast with Dr Dan Allen, it is in part due to his persistence to see justice for our pets as family members, that this new legislation has been passed.
The Pet Abduction Act 2024 is arguably the biggest step forwards in animal welfare since the Animal Welfare Act was introduced in 2006.
About the Author – Anna Webb
As a Canine Nutrition and Behaviour expert, Anna combines her psychology degree, with study at the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies (CIVT) and over 20 years of experience. Host of the award-nominated A DOG’S LIFE podcast, she lives in London and is owned by Prudence, a Miniature Bull Terrier and Mr. Binks, a re-homed English Toy Terrier. www.annawebb.co.uk
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