Heather attended the All-Party Group on Cats (APGOCATS) drop-in on cat theft.
The event was a chance to discuss cat theft with animal welfare charities and campaigners including Cats Protection. Cases of recorded cat theft have reached an all-time high according to data from Pet Theft Awareness. The Cat Theft report 2022 has found that, in 2021, the number of cases has increased an astonishing 40% since 2020 and quadrupled since 2015.
Current proposals for a pet abduction offence only extend to dogs and APGOCATS is calling for cats to also be protected.
Heather said: “The work that All Party Parliamentary Groups can do to influence policy has been exemplified by this APPG; I was extremely pleased to see that the Government has laid legalisation before Parliament to introduce compulsory cat microchipping for all owned cats which will make it much easier to reunite cats with their owner if they get lost or stolen.”
Charlotte Broad, Advocacy and Government Relations Officer for Cats Protection added “We know that 90% of cat owners see their pet as part of the family; so a decision to exclude cats from any new offence would be of extreme concern to Cats Protection and the millions of cat owners across the country. Cats Protection are delighted that so many parliamentarians have spoken up for cats on this important issue.”
