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Pet theft to be made criminal offence with prison sentence after rise in ‘dognapping’
The new offence comes after a spike in dog abduction during the pandemic
Pet abduction will be made a new criminal offence in England following a surge in thefts during the pandemic, the government has confirmed this week.
The new offence will recognise animals as companions and as sentient beings, rather than solely as property, as the law currently does.
According to the government, the new offence of pet abduction will also prioritise the missing animal’s welfare and will help police to track incidents and offenders.
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Sentencing guidelines have not yet being finalised, but previous reports have suggested that the new offence could carry a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Justice secretary Robert Buckland said the changes would better reflect the ‘full impact’ of pet theft, with him telling BBC Breakfast: “I think the message is going out loud and clear that this is a serious matter.
“I felt theft wasn’t an adequate way to described the impact of this particular crime on owners and indeed the pets themselves. It’s important that we work really hard on the way these offences are detected and investigated.”
This comes shortly following a recommendation from the government’s Pet Theft Taskforce, which was launched in May in response to skyrocketing rates of pet abduction during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The report found that seven in ten of the animal thefts recorded by the police involved dogs, with evidence suggesting that around 2,000 dog theft crimes were reported to police in 2020 alone.
Dog thefts have been a particular issue here in Manchester – in March this year, thieves were caught on CCTV stealing two black labradors outside of an M&S in Nantwich, Cheshire. The footage quickly went viral and, thankfully, the thieves were apprehended and the dogs were safely returned to their owners.
In a statement read out at the hearing, the dogs’ owner, Dale Robson, said: “I cannot believe that someone can be so heartless as to steal two dogs who are members of the family.”