Category: General

The Government’s Pet Theft Taskforce has today recommended a new ‘pet abduction’ offence and further proposals to combat the crime

The UK’s biggest organisation dedicated to dog health and welfare has welcomed recommendations from the Government’s Pet Theft Taskforce published today (3 September), following a successful campaign lobbying for stronger sentencing and better data collection on the crime.

Currently, sentencing places undue weighting on the monetary value of the pet rather than giving sufficient weight to the emotional impact of the crime, meaning it is often treated in the same way as the theft of a laptop or mobile phone. There is also no central record in order to help decision-makers understand the scale of the problem or the circumstances around it – for example, whether a theft was driven by opportunism or organised crime.  

In view of the Government’s lifting of the majority of the remaining Covid-19 restrictions on 19 July 2021, we have updated our guidance in relation to the resumption of licensed events in all canine disciplines.

Find out more – thekennelclub.org.uk/resumptionofevents

• New statistics show that a staggering 98 per cent of dog theft criminals are never charged, and in more than half of cases a suspect is never identified
• Freedom of Information statistics reveal 196 cases of dog theft every month, up 7 per cent on 2019
• Over 500 dogs estimated stolen across the UK since the Government’s Taskforce set up to tackle the issue in May, as the pandemic puppy surge led to growing dog theft fears
• The Kennel Club’s new ‘paw and order: dog theft reform’ campaign urges the Government’s Pet Theft Taskforce to improve the reporting and recording of the crime, and to treat dog theft with more proportionate sentences

As concerns about dog theft soar following the surge in pandemic puppy buying, new research shows a shocking failure to tackle a crime that is devastating 196 families every month, with only two per cent of cases in 2020 resulting in a criminal charge.

As competitive events begin to open up as a result of the phased easing of some Covid-19 restrictions, The Kennel Club wishes to remind competitors that they can use the ‘Name Applied For’ (NAF), ‘Transfer Applied For’ (TAF) and ‘Change of Name Applied For’ (CNAF) facilities, if necessary, when entering dogs for competition in any of The Kennel Club disciplines.

Kennel Club regulations dictate that dogs entered for any form of Kennel Club competition must be registered in the name of the person(s) making the entry. If, at the closing date of entries, the owner(s) have applied for but not received confirmation of The Kennel Club registration, the dog shall be entered in the name shown as the first choice on the application form for registration and the name should be followed by the letters ‘NAF’. An example of this would be ‘Clarges Oliver Twist NAF’.