Just before the sudden end of the parliament, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a General Election for 4 July, the Pet Abduction Bill was signed into law. Bills that were about to be passed are included in the so-called ‘wash-up’ – a hectic few days of for both houses in which these bills are passed. The House of Lords completed the bill’s passage on 23 May, a day before the end of the current parliament.
The Pet Theft Reform campaign was founded by Dr. Daniel Allen, who had been fighting since 2018 to get the emotional distress of stolen pets recognised in law. Conservative MP Anna Firth and Lord Black shepherded the bill through its lengthy process, which included the major set-back last summer, when Sunak made a last-minute U-turn and abandoned the comprehensive Kept Animals Bill, which included the Pet Abduction bill. (Click here to read the research briefing on the bill.)
The bill called to make pet theft a specific criminal offence with a maximum prison sentence of five years. It had widespread support from organisations including the RSPCA, the Kennel Club and Cat Protection, as well as celebrities including Ricky Gervais.
Advocates argued that the current law focused too much on the value of the pet rather than the emotional disstress this type of theft has on pets’ owners. Pet theft has also grown substantially in the UK in the past few years – a report by Pet Theft Awareness found that, in 2021, police-recorded cat theft increased by 40% on the previous year and has more than quadrupled since 2015.
For the second reading, Firth argued: “The golden thread running through this Bill is that dogs and cats are sentient beings. They are not mere property; animals and humans can and do form emotional bonds and there is a devastating impact when animal abduction takes place, both on people and on pets. That needs to be properly reflected in our criminal law.”
Firth took over the Southend West and Leigh constituency from Sir David Amess, who was murdered while holding a constituency surgery on 15 October 2021. He worked tirelessly for animal welfare and husbandry concerns, including this bill.
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