Make Pet Theft A Specific Crime In Uk Law

[AuntPollyGrey]

Two children were accosted in our village yesterday while walking their dog. They had been following the children asking what kind of dog they had.Luckily one child escaped with the dog and the two men jumped back in their car and sped off. Please if you have not already done so can you sign the following Petion. To lose a dog like this must be heart-breaking and its happening on a daily basis. Thank you.


https://www.change.org/p/make-pet-theft-a-specific-crime-in-uk-law?recruiter=false&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&;utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=2eea0560-6aac-11eb-9584-51ed62ed84dc&utm_content=fht-16939612-en-gb%3Av2&;fbclid=IwAR3WEx0z0vhO6CVqabELTHaF8-U4y5oZ37MaHT_IfEZf4fKhrzPVgq1Ug38

[barry1010]

Jim, if you give a pet the same legal status as a child for the purpose of theft could it have unwanted consequences such as no longer being able to have a very sick, suffering dog put to sleep when there is no hope of recovery?

[AuntPollyGrey]

Thank you jim -this is the whole point I think of the Petition, to reclassify the theft of a pet as at the moment pets are treated in the same way as a TV or mobile phone with regard to theft.

[pixie374]

Pets are seen as "property" legally. Having an uncontrolled dog in your car, is illegal, because of the risk to humans. A dog in a car is treated as a "load". Nothing to do with the dog's safety at all.

[lankeela]

If people stopped buying dogs from disreputable sources then there would be less dog theft. Make sure you only buy from an actual breeder who has the mother and make sure you see it, or from a rescue centre. If you are buying a dog from a bloke in a layby or motorway services then it is more than likely to be stolen or a puppy farmed dog but some people don't care as long as they get one.

[pixie374]

Yes, I think you're speaking to the wrong people, lankeela. Some people always will, if they can. There don't seem to be any checks or central database about which dogs are where.

[AuntPollyGrey]

Some dogs are stolen as bait for dog-fighting, its heart-breaking. It reminds me of around 40 years ago when childrens ponies were being stolen on a regular basis to export to the EU for meat. Thankfully the Laws were changed on that and I hope something can be done about these thefts too.

[jim360]

// Jim, if you give a pet the same legal status as a child for the purpose of theft could it have unwanted consequences such as no longer being able to have a very sick, suffering [pet] put to sleep ... //

I suppose it depends on how the new law would be implemented and drafted. Presumably you could copy the text of laws related to kidnapping, including the max sentence, etc, without specifying that an animal is legally treated as a child for these purposes.

I don't want to pretend that I've thought this through thoroughly, though.

[tiggerblue10]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56038085

[AuntPollyGrey]

Tigger -Thanks for the link, I hope something can be done about this horrible crime.

[Smowball]

Signed x

[Atheist]

APG; is it the case that theft of a dog is currently a criminal offence?

[AuntPollyGrey]

Atheist the petition is to make pet theft a SPECIFIC criminal offence. At the moment it comes under the same sentencing Laws as theft of property such as a mobile phone or TV. It clearly has much more of an impact on the victim if their pet is stolen as opposed to their TV. This should be reflected in the custodial sentence.