Cat and dog thieves to face prison under new law that official recognises pets as sentient

The government is expected to back the private members’ bill to make stealing cats and dogs a specific criminal offence today

People who steal dogs or cats could face up to five years in jail if convicted of a new criminal offence being presented to Parliament on Friday.

The private members’ bill, drawn up by Tory MP Anna Firth, would recognise animals as companions and as sentient beings, rather than solely as property, as the law currently does.

Crucially, the bill is expected to get the backing of the government after ministers failed to get through similar legislation for dogs in 2021.

Under current law, pets are labelled as property and so are covered by the 1968 Theft Act, with a maximum jail term of seven years for those convicted.

However, by creating legislation which specifically focuses on pet abduction, campaigners say those sentencing would have more power to consider the emotional impact on the owner.

It would apply for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There were more than 2,500 dog thefts in the UK in 2021 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The offence for dog theft had been included in the Kept Animals Bill set out by the government in 2021 following recommendations from a pet theft taskforce that said there were around 2,000 dog thefts reported in the UK in 2020. More recent figures show there were 2,760 dog thefts in 2021.

However, the bill was dropped in May last year.

Ms Firth, MP for Southend West, told the BBC, that the current lack of legislation had made the crime appealing to criminals.

She said: “Taking a pet is a particularly cruel crime, but it adds insult to injury when a devastated family calls the police and they do very little about it, because the pet is considered as no more significant than a power tool or mobile phone under the present law.

The bill has been put forward by Tory MP Anna Firth

“Anyone who has had a cat or a dog knows that they are members of your family.”

And the move has been supported by groups such as charity Cats Protection, who say the law could drive down the number of incidents.

Annabel Berdy, the charity’s senior advocacy officer, said: “If you included dogs from the outset without cats, given that those are the two companion animals, it might drive exploitative criminals or people looking to steal animals for money towards cats.”

A private members’ bill can be a challenge to turn into law. However, with government having already provided a supportive stance on the subject, it has a good chance of being passed through the Commons and Lords before a general election is called.