theft

[deggers316]

if someone finds something belonging to you and has been given your mobile number and informed that it is yours by a third person to contact you for its return and does not
is that classed as theft

[NORMANTHEDOG]

not if they did not steal it,but they could be charged with handling stolen goods,but check with the police.

[joko]

perhaps they feel the onus is on you to contact them...

[deggers316]

joke
she found my parrot ive had for 11 years, and if you've ever had owned one you might know how heartbroken i am,
she found it tues and on the way home with it in a box she called in at the local pet sore to which i'd already informed him it had got out ,he told her i had lost it and wrote down my mobile number and gave it to her ,he does not know who or where she lives and was quite off hand when told it was mine saying that i hope he (me) had a pic of it, of course iv'e hundreds, its now 7 days+ since she found it and no mobile call,

[deggers316]

also the police have been informed and have given me an incident number but like me cant do anything without knowing who has got it, i have a description and am trawling the bars etc where they may go

[joko]

dregs...
i don't deny how heartbroken you are!!
but that is irrelevant to this issue any way!
how was i supposed to know that this third person didn't have a way to contact her??

in this case it is clear she had thought she would make a few quid on selling the parrot - or she wants to keep it.

i would suggest contacting as many other pet shops as you can, as she may have already sold it.

try local paper ads etc too as she may put an ad in the pets section

[almcd007]

There is an offence of Theft By Finding. If you find a thousand pounds say and do nothing to trace its owner you can be charged with Theft if found out. I can't see any reason why the same can't be applied for a parrot.

[deggers316]

thanks joke
but i do know that the woman and her husband are heavy drinkers,sons been done for shoplifting,i don't hold out any hope really of getting my pet back,i just have to keep trying though, a guy who knows them by sight only says they will have no idea how to look after it,i put an ad in the local press immediately,iv'e put posters up in the area she lives in and pub owners are looking out for me too,i just might be able to get a pic of them on sat ,get it confirmed by the pet store owner its her then the police and my myself can make a move

[davec886]

This is theft. If you find something you have no legal duty to report it to the Police but you do have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to identify an owner. In this case the owner was identified for them yet they made no attempt to return the property.
Theft!