Pet Theft - Tougher Penalites to Deter.

As this e-petition has received more than 10 000 signatures, the relevant Government department have provided the following response:

The Government takes all crime, including the theft of a pet, very seriously, recognising that it can cause a great deal of distress to those owners whose pets are stolen. However, the Government does not believe it is necessary to create a new offence in order to do this, as such behaviour is already criminal. The theft of a dog constitutes a criminal offence under section 1 of the Theft Act, 1968 and asking for money for its return could constitute blackmail under section 21 of that Act.

When sentencing, the court would take into account the particular harm caused to the owner, in addition to all the other relevant circumstances of the offence. Furthermore, anyone who steals and mistreats a pet could be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 of which the maximum penalty is a fine of £20,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment. For those reasons, the Government has no plans to introduce separate offences of dog theft or dog kidnapping.

As part of its reforms for promoting more responsible dog ownership, Government has introduced plans for the microchipping of all dogs in England by April 2016, which may help to deter such thefts from occurring in the first place. Microchipping of all dogs will help owners recover lost or stray dogs, including, potentially, dogs that are stolen.

This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100 000 signature threshold.