Pet Abduction Act 2024: the pet theft law explained (UK)

• In England and Northern Ireland, taking a dog or cat away from whoever has lawful control of it is the offence of dog abduction or cat abduction, with up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.
• For dogs, keeping a dog away from the person entitled to it counts too. For cats, only taking one does, because cats roam and wander into other people's homes.
• It isn't abduction when the pet lived with both people before they split up: that's a dispute to settle another way.
• Wales isn't covered, and Scotland's own Dog Theft (Scotland) Act 2026 isn't in force yet. Stealing a pet there is still a crime, as theft.

Before the Act, a stolen pet was treated like any other stolen property under the Theft Act 1968. The government's Pet Theft Taskforce estimated that around 2,000 dog thefts were reported to police in England and Wales in 2020, and that just over a fifth of stolen dogs were reunited with their owners. It recommended a new offence because, in its words, pets are “more than mere property which can often be replaced, but sentient beings.”

The Pet Abduction Act 2024 began as a Private Member's Bill, sponsored by Anna Firth MP and Lord Black of Brentwood and supported by the government. It became law on 24 May 2024, and the offences came into force on 24 August 2024 in both England and Northern Ireland.

Under section 1, a person commits dog abduction if they take a dog so as to remove it from the lawful control of any person, or detain a dog so as to keep it from the lawful control of anyone entitled to it, while they and the dog are in England or Northern Ireland.

Taking includes getting a dog to go with you or someone else, or causing it to be taken. Detaining includes getting a dog to stay with you or someone else, or causing it to be kept.

Under section 2, a person commits cat abduction if they take a cat so as to remove it from the lawful control of any person, again in England or Northern Ireland. Taking includes getting a cat to go with you, or causing it to be taken.

Unlike the dog offence, there's no offence of keeping a cat. DAERA, Northern Ireland's agriculture department, explains that the law limits it to taking to allow for cats' different way of life.

In England there's a defence for someone who keeps a dog they believed was a stray, as long as they took all reasonable steps to hand it over under section 150 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and didn't keep it for more than 96 hours. Section 150 says a finder must straight away either return the dog to its owner or take it to the council's officer, and tell them where it was found.

In Northern Ireland the defence is for someone who found an unaccompanied dog, gave notice of it under the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 and took reasonable steps to let it be collected.

In short: if you find a dog, contact the owner or the council at once rather than keeping it. Our guide to finding a lost dog or cat has the steps.

• When the pet lived with both people. It isn't abduction if the person who took or kept the pet, the person it was taken from and the pet all lived together, the two people lived together before the pet did, and the pet was taken after they split up.
• When there's lawful authority or a reasonable excuse, which is a defence to both offences.

For a dispute over who a pet belongs to, see how to prove a pet is yours.

Both offences can be tried in a magistrates' court or the Crown Court. In the Crown Court, the maximum is five years in prison, a fine, or both. In a magistrates' court in England, the maximum is prison up to the court's general limit, a fine, or both, and in Northern Ireland up to 12 months, a fine up to the statutory maximum, or both.

The Act only covers dogs and cats, but it lets the government in England, or DAERA in Northern Ireland, extend it to other species if they're commonly kept as pets and there's evidence that thefts of them are significant or rising. It has to consult before doing so.

The offences only apply in England and Northern Ireland. In Wales, stealing a pet is a crime under the Theft Act 1968, with a maximum of seven years in prison. According to the Senedd's research service, the Welsh Government decided to put its resources into its existing animal welfare commitments rather than join the Act, while keeping the right to legislate later.

Scotland has passed its own law: the Dog Theft (Scotland) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 10 February 2026 and creates an offence of dog theft along the same lines, with a similar 96-hour defence for finders. But its main offence only starts on a date the Scottish Ministers set by regulations, and as of 6 October 2026 legislation.gov.uk still shows it as not yet in force. It covers dogs only.

Report it to the police and get a crime reference number, then tell your microchip database that your pet has been stolen, and work through our guide to protecting your dog from theft and the lost dog checklist.

Proof matters in any theft case: keep the microchip in your name with up-to-date details, recent photos, and your vet records and receipts. A QR code tag on the collar also means anyone who's offered your pet, or finds it, can see straight away whose it is.