Petition · past parliament · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Put in place law restricting domestic cats from free-roaming

Closed 39 signatures

What the petition asks

Free-roaming domestic cats let outdoors without supervision are exposed to many dangers, including diseases other cats may have, and they urinate and defecate in uncontrolled way and are a risk to wildlife such as rare birds.
Legislation should be introduced requiring cats to only be allowed outdoors under the supervision of the owner.

Free-roaming creates also a huge risk to cats themselves as across the country, they are shot, poisoned, and stolen. There are also cases of them being mutilated, drowned, beaten, set on fire, used in ritual sacrifice and used by dogfighters as “bait.” Cats can live happy lives indoors, and they can be given opportunities to explore the outdoors under supervision therefore, for the mutual benefits of the wildlife, cats and local societies, free-roaming must be legally restricted.

Timeline

10 Dec 2020 Petition opened for signatures
10 Jun 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 39
Status Closed
Department Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Opened 10 Dec 2020
Closed 10 Jun 2021

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.