Pet theft isn't just a petty crime...

It's like having a member of your family held hostage. But the law currently treats it as no different than someone stealing your wallet. And thieves have spotted that for them this is a low risk high reward crime.

This week ITV This Morning covered this subject.

Jacqui held back the tears when she talked about Zala and Zeus who were stolen in 2016 and are still missing.

There are so many other people in limbo. Where are these stolen dogs? The microchips that were meant to bring them home are useless as there is no compulsion for anyone to scan. Someone probably has bought Jacqui's dogs and has no idea they were stolen, vets do not routinely scan new patients. And theft by finding is common as people don't realise they need to report found dogs so they can be scanned.

Do you know someone with dogs like these? Have they scanned them for chips and checked the database to see if they are stolen?

Let's get these dogs back home in time for Christmas 2019.

You can help make dogs less at risk. There will be another debate in parliament on this subject on November 11th. Can you write to your MP and urge them to attend?

Politicians haven't been able to get much done lately, but animal welfare seems to be a subject that crosses party divides, something broken they can fix. We've had Finn's Law and Lucy's Law in the midst of Brexit, so now is the time to press on. The last debate saw a huge attendance and very passionate speeches. This is a topic MPs care about, drop them a line and encourage them to go further, to give us the deterrents to make the criminals not want to get involved in this devastating and booming crime.

Debbie Matthews, founder of the Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance, explains,

“At Sampa, we believe a simple amendment to the existing Theft Act would act as a much more effective deterrent to thieves and this would better protect our pets.

“We need your help – we need to you to contact your MP and current Defra minister Zac Goldsmith, and ask for their support for the pet theft reform debate scheduled for November 11th in Westminster Hall.”

It’s essential that your MP knows how popular this reform will be.

Do thank your MP for what they did previously with Lucy’s Law and Finn's Law and ask them to get behind pet theft reform.

This little boy's face says it all. He was very lucky, he got his stolen dog back. There are so many people still in limbo.

Find out more about stolen and missing dogs here: https://www.doglost.co.uk/dog-search.php

And please, email your MP today.

There are lots of ideas for what you might include in your letter or email here: www.stolenandmissingpetsalliance.co.uk/write-to-your-mp

Why do we need pet theft reform? 

The monetary value of a pet should be irrelevant for the categorisation of the crime – all pets are priceless regardless of their purchase price. 

We need to ensure that police forces are given appropriate guidance and training to record and investigate cases.

More than 60 dogs are stolen every week in England and Wales. Fewer than five per cent of cases lead to convictions.

Pet theft is rising, causing huge distress. The theft of a pet is life-changing; pets are part of our families yet the courts treat their theft as no different than the theft of inanimate objects.

It’s really easy to write to or email your MP and your help will go a long way: here’s what to do:-

To find your MP, enter your postcode and hit next to find their constituents address and email address. Just click on this link:- https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/

My name:

My address:

My postcode:

Subject: Pet Theft Reform

Dear ______MP,

Pet Theft Reform debate on 11th November 2019 at 4.30 in Westminster Hall.

I recently signed Dr. Daniel Allen’s and Stolen And Missing Pets Alliance’s (SAMPA) second #PetTheftReform petition to classify the theft of a pet to a specific crime in its own right and I’m happy to tell you that both achieved the required 100,000 signatures in just a few months. The first Pet Theft Reform petition was debated on the 2nd July 2018 in Westminster Hall and since then the support has continued to grow. Animal welfare charities such as Dog Trust, National Animal Welfare Trust, RSPCA, Kennel Club and Blue Cross also continue to back the demand for this change, including many MP’s cross party.

I appreciate the 1968 Theft Act with its emotional distress update in 2016 for personal items should act as a deterrent but as this vile crime continues to increase year on year it clearly is not working and as long as our priceless and irreplaceable dogs and other domestic pets are being categorised as inanimate property this will remain the case. The theft of these ‘items’ are seen as a low risk, high reward crime, because of the sentencing council’s guidelines from Defra, and they therefore remain as a category 4 offence, 2nd hand goods valued under ￡500.

Dr Daniel Allen, Animal Geographer at Keele University and SAMPA patron has explained why we need Pet Theft Reform: Dog theft on the rise: how in danger is your pet and what can be done about it?: https://theconversation.com/dog-theft-on-the-rise-how-in-danger-is-your-pet-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-125010 

Spatialities of Dog Theft: A Critical Perspective: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/5/209

Pet Theft Reform:- Petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/244530

SAMPA has set out two routes to reform. One is to revise sentencing guidelines in the Theft Act 1968 to ‘reclassify the theft of a pet to a specific crime in its own right’.

The second route is to ‘amend animal welfare law to make pet theft a specific offence’ through the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This would ensure courts consider the fear, alarm or distress to sentient animals rather than their monetary value.

I would also like to mention that I fully support #FernsLaw petition supporting families searching for their missing microchipped dogs, cats and other domestic pets including horses. You will understand that depending on the strengthened guidelines on ‘good practice recommendations’ are meaningless and until the promise of microchips reuniting sold on stolen and missing pets is upheld by the veterinary professionals, the microchip system is not fit for purpose. It’s perfectly reasonable to expect that all pets microchip registration is checked at 1st consultation and at the annual check up to establish whether a pet is missing or stolen. Responsible pet owners who have abided by the Compulsory Dog Microchipping Regulations are being let down https://chng.it/pKPKg255

As my MP, I am asking you to attend the Pet Theft Reform Debate in Parliament on 11th November 2019 at 4.30pm in Westminster Hall.

Thank you for your time.

Kind regards,

Your name

I support #PetTheftReform

For more information: StolenAndMissingPetsAlliance.co.uk