In Justice Question (House of Commons, 14 September 2021), Karl quizzed The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice about the Conservative Government’s commitment on strengthening laws on pet theft – an issue raised by many of Karl’s Constituents.
This was also in the wake of a new report from the Pet Theft Taskforce that they commissioned due to a perceived increase in pet theft during the lockdown. The Government has stated that they are already working on the new proposed offence of pet abduction and that work is already underway with many of the other recommendations stemming from the report. This included a review of microchipping and improvements in the recording of these offences.
During the exchange in the Commons’ Chamber, alongside supporting the Government’s proposals for a new law and improvements on micro-chipping, Karl also urged the Government to do more on educating prospective owners to buy pets only from reputable breeders and potentially encompass farm animals in the same legislation.
The Secretary of State said “the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for doing important work on promoting safer purchasing through the “Petfished” campaign. We will build on that in the way in which we identify and track cases better, improve the recording of keepership data and deal with through-the-loophole breeders, who are frankly responsible for a lot of cruelty and suffering.”
After the House of Common’s session, Karl, said: “I, and many of my Constituents, are concerned about the increasing level of pet thefts. This is why I am particularly pleased that this Conservative Government is bringing in a new law and other measures to get tough on this terrible crime. There must be far strong punishments for those who cause such suffering and distress to the animals and the owners – they must be brought to justice.”
