Lockdown has driven up the demand for pets. This has meant higher prices, which in turn has driven up the profitability of pet theft. The number of reported crimes has risen sharply. That cannot be allowed to stand.
Donna Jones is calling for stiffer penalties and greater police action. This will need legislative changes as well as local police action. She wants:
- the government to change the law so that the theft of a pet is treated more harshly than the theft of an inanimate object of the same value
- the police locally to deploy greater resources in the fight against pet theft
She said “Dogs and cats aren’t just property, for many people they are family members. We need to stamp out pet theft. Hampshire Constabulary is growing in size. Some of the extra capacity that these extra officers will bring should be used to stop and reverse the huge increase in pet theft that we have seen.”
The price of puppies has risen by 131% and thefts by 51%
You can read more about the campaign to protect pets at https://www.pettheftreform.com or take Donna's survey at https://www.donnajones.org.uk/form/dogtheft-survey