PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Pets: Theft (24 October 2019)
Question Asked
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making pet theft a specific crime.
Asked by:
Alberto Costa (Conservative)
Asked by:
Alberto Costa (Conservative)
Answer
Theft of a pet is already a criminal offence punishable by a penalty of up to 7 years imprisonment. In February 2016, the independent Sentencing Council updated its guidelines in relation to sentencing for theft offences. The guidelines take account of the emotional distress, and therefore harm, that the theft of a much beloved pet can have on the victim, and accordingly recommend higher penalties for such offences.
Answered by:
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative)
1 November 2019
Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.