IS THE PROPOSED CAT ABDUCTION OFFENCE IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY?

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, Chope expressed concern that cats should not be included until the Cats Microchipping Regulation has come into force, adding that "cats could be included at the stage we know that microchipping is working". With compulsory microchipping for cats over 20 weeks of age coming into force on June 10th this year, we are bewildered as to why this would be an issue and a reason to remove cats from the Pet Abduction Bill.

Christopher Chope.

We are concerned that any proposal to exclude cats at the Bill's inception will result in many more years of further campaigning to get them included retrospectively. After all, it has taken eight years to secure compulsory microchipping for cats since it was made mandatory for dogs back in 2016, so we are all-too-aware how slowly the cogs of parliament turn.

A parliamentary MPs 'drop in' event organised by Cats Protection and supported by SAMPA and Pet Theft Awareness.

Following the Committee Stage, there has been a concerning amount of false narrative in the media suggesting that the Bill will be seeking to criminalise people greeting/stroking cats in the streets. This should be dismissed as fake news as clearly such harmless, well-meaning activities will not fall under the scope of the Bill. However, please be warned that the deliberate taking of a cat, either by removing or inducing, will risk triggering the offence. There is the provision of 'reasonable excuse', however should you remove a cat for welfare or safety reasons, there will be an equally reasonable obligation to get the cat scanned at a veterinary practice or responsible rescue and also to advertise where they are. Any 'Granny Meow' characters out there - (as described by Sir Edward Leigh during the Second Reading) - should be mindful that they should ensure that the cat is still allowed to roam freely and there is no intention to permanently deprive the owner of their cat - the Theft Act 1968 still serves as a back-up.

Let's debunk some myths:

• You will not be committing an offence for feeding or petting a neighbour's cat.
• Family ownership disputes are unlikely to result in police action - this can occur after relationship splits. The proposed Pet Abduction Offence exempts people who have lived in the same household. 
• If a cat comes into your property it will not be an issue unless you permanently prevent the cat from returning to its home.
  

Please remember that most wandering cats are owned or are lost, displaced family members in need of someone who can help them get home. Their owners could be searching and worried. 

Please get them SCANNED and ADVERTISE.

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Who Is Christopher Chope?

The Christchurch MP has a track record of intervening in Private Members' Bills.
In 2018, he faced criticism for using a parliamentary procedure, under which any MP can stall a bill by shouting "object", to block a ban on "upskirting" - secretly taking a photo up a woman's skirt.
It was later brought in after the government adopted the measures. Sir Christopher said he supported the ban but had been objecting to parliamentary procedure.
He has also used the same mechanism to block other pieces of legislation including bills to offer protection orders for children at risk of female genital mutilation, to pardon the World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing and to ban wild animals in circuses.

Source: BBC Website

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