Template Letter for MPS - including cats in proposed Pet Abduction Offence

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Your address here
(NB must be included for your
MP to respond to your
correspondence)

Your MP’s name
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Date

Dear  Name of your MP

Including Family Cats in the Proposed Pet Abduction Offence in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill

I am writing to you as my constituency MP to express my disappointment at the Government’s decision to limit the new Pet Abduction Offence in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill to dogs and to ask you to make representations to relevant ministers to reconsider their position with regard to the inclusion of our family cats.

As you are aware, in May 2021 in response to growing public concern about the rise in reported pet theft since the start of the pandemic, the government established a Pet Theft Taskforce to investigate and to recommend any necessary measures to tackle the problem. After taking expert evidence from individuals and welfare organisations, albeit almost exclusively in respect of dogs, the Taskforce published its report in September. Its key conclusion was that “The Taskforce does not believe that the creation of a new Pet Theft Offence or a statutory aggravating factor—in line with recent campaigns—would have the desired impact. This is because theft deals with the deprivation of property, and so the welfare of the stolen animal would not be a primary consideration when sentencing. However, a new ‘Pet Abduction Offence’ could switch the focus from the loss to the owner to the welfare of the animal”. In other words, instead of seeking changes to the Theft Act 1968, which deals primarily with the theft of inanimate objects, it recommended including the proposed offence as part of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill in recognition of the suffering inflicted on a sentient animal. 

Disappointingly, despite the fact that the Taskforce’s recommendations were written unambiguously with respect to all pets, the Government has decided that the proposed offence should, in the first instance, be limited solely to dogs. I recognise that there is provision in the Bill to include other species of companion animal at some unspecified future date, but the mechanism for achieving this is cumbersome and likely to prove extremely protracted. More importantly, the criteria for triggering these ‘enabling powers’ are already fully satisfied as regards our family cats—they are kept as pets, are capable of forming bonds with their owners and their removal would adversely affect their well-being. Instead, the decision seems to have been based on nothing more than the often-cited statistic that seven out of 10 pet thefts involve dogs. However, this figure relates solely to the Metropolitan Police area and simply represents the total for the last 10 years as a whole. As such it says nothing about the relative trends in pet theft over time. In fact, the number of thefts involving dogs as a percentage of total pet theft crimes has been on a firmly downward trend since 2018 and now comprises less than six out of 10. By contrast, the proportion involving cats has been on an almost continuous, steeply upwards trajectory, such that in 2021 they represented almost one third of all pet theft crimes. And nationwide, according to The Cat Theft Report 2022, the number of police recorded cat thefts in 2021 increased by a staggering 40%.  

However, this shouldn’t be an issue that is determined on the basis of statistics but by the fact that these animals are sentient beings as recognised by the Government. When it comes to their ability to suffer when taken away from home and family, it is not possible to differentiate between a dog and a cat regardless of the relative proportions of those stolen. 

By not including cats from the outset, they will remain trapped within the limitations of the Theft Act 1968 as property and therefore afforded no more protection from being stolen than an inanimate object and without their sentience fully recognised. Moreover, without the same inherent protection and deterrents afforded to dogs it is not unreasonable to conclude that the relative attractiveness of stealing family felines can only increase further; cat theft will remain a low risk, high reward proposition for thieves.

With the Bill having about to reach the Report Stage in the House of Commons there is still time to table an amendment to include cats alongside dogs in the proposed Pet Abduction offence. Can we please count on you either to support such an amendment or to table one yourself? Could we also ask you to write to the Rt Hon Ranil Jayawardena MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, urging the Government to include cats in the proposed legislation from the outset. If it is more convenient, please feel free to forward this email to the Minister. 

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely


Your Name


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