Pet Theft Awareness

What is the Pet Abduction Act 2024? From August 24th 2024 this much needed new law came into effect. Following the significant increase in pet theft during the pandemic, the government appointed a Pet Theft Taskforce to investigate. Their recommendation included the creation of a Pet Abduction Offence in recognition that pets are not inanimate objects as they were previously classified under the Theft Act 1968, but sentient, loved family members who have the capacity to suffer when stolen. The word 'abduction' was more appropriate since it places the emphasis firmly on the welfare of the pet, whilst recognising the impact on the owner. The Act comprises two separate offences: Dog Abduction and Cat Abduction. It will be a criminal offence to "take" and "detain" a dog however, only the 'taking' of a cat will fall within the scope of the Act. This is to reflect the different lifestyle and freedoms that our family cats enjoy, leaving them to continue to

IS THE PROPOSED CAT ABDUCTION OFFENCE IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY? After campaigning hard, collecting vital and persuasive cat theft data and lobbying MPs and Ministers to get cats included in any proposed pet abduction legislation, we thought we had succeeded when Anna Firth introduced a Pet Abduction Bill outlining two offences: A dog abduction offence and a separate offence for cats. Anna Firth MP. Her private members' Pet Abduction Bill has government support. Enjoying the support of the government and sailing through both its Second Reading and Committee Stage, its swift passage through the Commons seemed assured, but has now been hindered by the notoriously obstructive MP Sir Christopher Chope tabling several amendments to the Bill. If he is successful, this could result in the cat abduction offence being dropped altogether, once again leaving our family cats outside of the legal protections and deterrents that this legislation affords to dogs. Attempting to explain his rationale, Ch

2024 PTAW Day Planner: -. Mar 10th:  Pre Week -  post highlighting PTAW (Sun) 1. Mar.14th:  DTAD - Who Steals Dogs? (Thurs)    2. Mar.15th:  Prevention (Fri) 3. Mar.17th:  Where are Pets Stolen? (Sun) 4. Mar.19th:  Horse Theft Day (Tue) 5. Mar.20th:  Avoid Buying a Stolen Pet. (Wed) 6. Mar.21st:  #MissingandStolenCatsDay (Thurs)

TEMPLATE LETTER TO SEND TO YOUR MP Please cut and paste the template letter and send it to your MP. (or feel free to personalise as you wish). You can find your MPs email address here:  https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP Dear …………………….. (MP name) IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO INCLUDE CATS!         As one of your constituents, I am writing to you regarding the Government’s Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill which is set to expire on 8th June 2023 .         I understand that the options available to the Government are:         1. To let the Bill drop. 2. To table a further debatable carry over motion to extend this time or 3. To schedule a date for the Bill’s remaining stages before the 8th June and enable it to progress to the House of Lords.   To date there has been no announcement as to how, or even whether, the Bill will progress and time is running out. As of Tuesday 9th May there were only 15 PARLIAMENTARY DAYS until 8th June. This Bill is a major step in the improvement of animal

  APGOCATS Parliamentary Drop-in Event for MPs 14th March 2023 Hosted by APGOCATS at the start of  #PetTheftAwarenessWeek, we were delighted to be invited to attend this event with copies of our Cat Theft Report 2022 - The Summary. These were handed out to MPs who came along to pledge their support for family cats to be included, alongside dogs, in the proposed Pet Abduction Offence - one of many important animal welfare provisions covered in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill.  The secretariat of APGOCATS put together a briefing for the MPs and attendees of the event outlining the key issues. click to enlarge TEMPLATE LETTER TO SEND TO YOUR MP Please cut and paste the template letter and send it to your MP. (Or feel free to personalise as you wish). You can find your MPs email address here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP Dear …………………….. (MP name) IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO INCLUDE CATS!      As one of your constituents, I am writing to you regarding the Government’s Ani

Pet Theft Awareness Week 2023 0. Mar 11th:  Pre Week -  highlighting PTAW and blogs (Sat) 1. Mar.14th:  DTAD - Who Steals Dogs? (Tues)    2. Mar.15th:  Prevention (Wed) 3. Mar.17th:  Where are Pets Stolen? (Fri) 4. Mar.19th:  Horse (Sun) 5. Mar.20th:  Don't Buy Stolen Pets  (Mon) 6. Mar.21st:  #StolenAndMissingCatsDay (Tue) Mar 7th  Pre Week - #PetTheftAwarenessWeek March 14th to 21st. Pls Share. The annual Pet Theft Awareness Week begins next week. Having any pet stolen is a horrific life-changing crime that ruins the lives of owners and families. It happens every day. EDUCATION - This year we are highlighting the 'Theft by Finding' misery caused by illegally keeping 'found' pets. PREVENTION - To continue with the message that all pet owners need to consider the ease at which someone could steal their beloved family members. How easily can someone take your pet? #DogTheftAwarenessDay March 14th. Dog related businesses and organisations can share our graphics OR cre