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Animal Welfare Bill

moved Amendment No. 49:"After Clause 10, insert the following new clause—" ““PET THEFTS (1)   A person commits an offence if he steals a protected animal. (2)   A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable to— (a)   imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks, or (b)   a fine not exceeding £20,000, or to both.”” The noble Baroness said: This amendment is intended to probe whether the Government think that the punishments available for pet thefts are adequate, since the theft of pets is growing. Does the Minister have any statistics on the level of pet theft and is it a recordable crime? I believe that it is classed as a similar crime to the theft of a video recorder or television. The maximum sentence is six months imprisonment or a maximum fine of £5,000. I have chosen a different penalty, for the sake of tabling an amendment. For many people, pets are extremely important. To classify them as equal to, for example, a television, does not reflect the reality of the situation. Given the value of some stolen pedigree pets, I wonder whether, emotionally and financially, the penalties that can be imposed are sufficient, which is why I have tabled the amendment. I beg to move.