Welsh law 'treats stolen pets like stolen wallets'

Wales should make pet abduction a specific criminal offence, the Senedd heard on Wednesday.

The party's North Wales MS Carolyn Thomas said Welsh law treats stolen pets the same as stolen wallets, and argued the country should come into line with England and Northern Ireland,

The RSPCA backed her proposal and said for many, pets are family members and so should not be treated like stolen property.

But Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said pet theft was already a criminal offence with a maximum prison sentence of seven years, and changing the law was "not a priority".

Criminal justice is not a devolved matter and generally laws are the same in both countries.

But a Pet Welfare Act that came into force in England last year did not apply to Wales because animal welfare is a devolved matter. Campaigners want to change that.

Pet theft is traumatic for the animals and the owners, and so the abductors should face up to five-years in jail, said Ms Thomas.

"Significant emotional distress is often coupled with a substantial financial cost in relation to searching for the stolen animal," she added.

"The trauma caused when a pet is stolen can be irreversible."

At the moment pet theft is covered under the 1968 Theft Act, which also covers objects such as wallets.

Ms Thomas said making it a specific criminal offence would allow police forces to record the theft separately, "providing them with intelligence about animals and breeds which are most at risk, and the areas where they are being targeted".

Billie-Jade Thomas, RSPCA Cymru's public affairs manager said pets are often "members of the family" and so theft is "devastating" and should not be treated the same as stealing a mobile phone.

But Irranca-Davies said a law on pet abduction was "not a priority at this time" for ministers, and it was already a criminal offence with a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

He said the Welsh government was focusing its efforts on its animal welfare plan for Wales and "we really need to deliver on that".

"Legislation on pet abduction is not included as a priority at this time, given the legal protections are in place."

"But I do take the point we could look at issues of sentencing guidelines," he added.

"However, there is a range of other work taking place on this very topic.

"We're working in partnership with the UK and the Scottish governments on improvements to microchipping and registration."

Additional reporting by Adrian Browne