James Daly MP for Bury North showed his support on Friday for Anna Firth MP’s private members bill to make the law recognise that pets are more than just property.
Anna Firth MP for Southend has introduced a Pet Abductions Bill that acknowledges that pets are family, not property and the trauma suffered by both the owner and the pet (when pets are abducted) is very significant.
The intention of the bill is to allow the courts to consider the impact on both the owner and the welfare of the animal when deciding the penalty for the crime. The penalty will leave those convicted, liable to a fine and a prison sentence of up to 5 years. This is comparable with provisions for animal welfare offences under the Animal welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.
James Daly MP said: “I am a member of the Home Affairs Committee and the Justice Committee and have been a criminal lawyer for the best part of two decades and I am always interested in how we can encourage the police to take seriously all types of offending, certainly offending in this area.
“I agree that passing Bill would be a strong statement from Parliament and I genuinely hope the police will take up the challenge of investigating these offences properly and giving them the degree of time and seriousness, they deserve”.
Anna Firth MP said: “Animals and humans can and do form emotional bonds and there is a devastating impact when animal abduction takes place, both on people and on pets. That needs to be properly reflected in our criminal law.”
Anna would also like to thank the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, Cats Protection, Dogs Trust, Battersea Cats and Dogs Home, Refuge, Iain Dale and LBC and Southend’s own Tilly’s Angels for their support and engagement with the bill.
James is intending to introduce his own Pet Microchip Bill in the Commons on Friday 29th January. This Bill will require the Local Authority to make arrangements for a cat’s microchip to be scanned and to make efforts to tell the owner of the cat what has happened, should they be found dead.
The Bill will also make it a requirement for the veterinary profession to scan the microchip of a dog and to make inquiries to identify the rescue back up (rescue back-up being the original breeder or someone other than the owner) to stop healthy dogs being euthanised.
