Muir welcomes introduction of new Pet Abduction offences in Northern Ireland

DAERA Minister, Andrew Muir MLA, has welcomed the introduction of new legislation that criminalises the abduction of cats and dogs.

The Pet Abduction Act 2024 will come into force in Northern Ireland on 24 August 2024. This Act creates specific offences for the abduction of cats and dogs to recognise that they are not mere property but sentient beings.

The intention of the new offences is that it will allow courts to place greater focus on the impact on the welfare of the animal as well as the interests of the owner when deciding penalties rather than the financial loss, which for some animals may not be significant.

Minister Muir said: "I appreciate how important dogs and cats are to their owners in Northern Ireland. As part of families, they provide companionship and joy and also support and comfort through difficult times. That is why it is so distressing for owners when one of their beloved pets is abducted or detained, in what is a very cruel crime. I therefore welcome the introduction of bespoke criminal offences for pet abduction in Northern Ireland."

The maximum penalty on conviction for cat or dog abduction is up to five years in prison, or a fine or both. As the new offences are centered on the impact on the animal, this maximum penalty aligns with other serious animal welfare offences under the Welfare of Animals (Northern Ireland) Act 2011.

Minister Muir added: "The new legislation is intended to deal with the unscrupulous people who abduct a dog or cat. It does not intend to criminalise genuinely kind behaviour to cats and dogs that people do not own. Therefore, there are a number of safeguards and exemptions set out in the Act to ensure that innocent behaviour is outside of the scope of the offences."

Notes to editors:

1. The Pet Abduction Act 2024 makes it an offence for a dog or cat to be taken from a person with lawful control of the animal. In the case of dogs, the Act also makes it an offence to detain a dog. It limits the offence to 'taking' cats to account for the different lifestyles of those animals.
2. The Act includes a power to enable DAERA to extend the offences to other species of pet, subject to certain conditions. DAERA must consider that animals of that species are kept as a pet, and there must be evidence of a significant number or rise in cases of unlawful taking or detaining.
3. The Act also seeks to enhance criminal justice data reporting and monitoring of pet abduction cases to better understand and tackle the issue.
4. The Act includes a specific defence in relation to dogs believed to be stray or found unaccompanied, which takes into account the statutory requirements that already exist in England and Northern Ireland and steps taken to comply with those.
5. The Act also provides for a "reasonable excuse" defence which would allow a court flexibility to determine on a case-by-case basis whether the taking or detention is unlawful.
6. The Pet Abduction Act 2024 applies in both Northern Ireland and England and will come into force in both jurisdictions on 24 August 2024.
7. All media queries should be directed to the DAERA Press Office at: [email protected]
8. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
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