Pets are members of family, not property

PETS share our lives, and any pet owner will confirm that they are much more than just mere property, they’re part of the family. It is impossible to compare the companionship, fun and comfort that pets bring to our lives to something like a bike or a mobile phone.

Pets are sentient beings, capable of feeling pain, fear and stress, which is what makes pet abduction a particularly nasty crime.

Stolen animals are at high risk of mistreatment, and owners may live in permanent limbo, never knowing what has happened to them or if they’ll ever come home.

The new Pet Abduction Bill law would finally give pets the full recognition they deserve and help stamp out the criminal activities that prey on much-loved pet cats by onward selling or from breeding kittens to sell.

With an ever-growing demand for purebred and pedigree cats in particular, we need to act quickly to stamp out backstreet breeding.

A new and specific offence will also enable police to finally build an accurate picture of pet theft across England and Northern Ireland by requiring a specific log, as opposed to the current situation where pet theft is recorded as property theft.

Currently, it’s a catch-22 situation – we know pet theft is going on, but because it’s not being individually recorded we can’t get a grip on the scale of it.

We’re hugely encouraged to see the Pet Abduction Bill making such swift progress through parliament and will be working tirelessly with other animal charities and politicians to push it forwards.

We cannot let this important opportunity to protect pets and owners slip through our hands.

Annabel Berdy Senior Advocacy & Government Relations Officer for Cats Protection