A call for pet theft to be reclassified as a crime in its own right has been made during Pet Theft Awareness Week. This is a social media driven event which is now in its fifth year, and with pet theft on the rise its a salutary reminder to all pet owners no one is exempt from this crime.

Every week more than 60 dogs are stolen in England and Wales and that is considered by DogLost, the largest reunification organisation in the country, to be only the tip of the iceberg.

With the law as it stands, there is no deterrent to reduce pet theft which has increased by nearly 24% over the past three years bringing misery to children, the elderly and the disabled as well as causing stress to the animals involved.

This year Pet Theft Awareness as a member of the Stolen & Missing Pets Alliance is supporting an e-petition created by Dr Daniel Allen, a Research Fellow in Human Geography and tutor at Keele University.

On researching the problem, Dr Allen was appalled by the increase of dog theft, a lack of accurate police statistics and the need for pet theft to be reclassify to reflect the crime.

Richard Jordan, co founder of Pet Theft Awareness said “Up until the introduction of the Theft Act 1968, stealing a dog was a crime in itself but under this act it is now classified as a personal item. It is wrong that a sentient being has no greater value than a mobile phone or flower vase when the act classifies the theft of a vehicle or bicycle in their own right.”

Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford and long time supporter of SAMPA said “This petition, which was launched last month asking for pet theft to be reclassified as a crime in its own right, already has had more than 35,000 signatures. This illustrates the strength of feeling on the issue. Dog theft is a cruel crime and whilst it continues, I will do all I can to highlight it and call for tougher sentences for the perpetrators.”

To sign the petition go to https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/212174 and for more information on theft prevention visit: www.pettheft.org.uk

The charity also advises dog owners to always have the following information in their mobile phone: a photo of your pet, your dog’s microchip number, a local Animal Warden’s telephone number and your dog’s microchip database telephone number.