Last year a spate of distressing cat deaths in Brighton caused considerable distress and anxiety in the city.
At the time I was in contact with Sussex Police, as well as many residents, about the situation. It was heart-breaking to hear about the much-loved pets who had been killed, to see their photos, and hear how trusting of people the cats had been.
Following a complex investigation and subsequent arrest, it took the police many months to be able to get to a point where they were able to charge a suspect with attacks on 16 cats – killing nine and inflicting serious injuries on seven others.
Whilst getting to this point is welcomed by those affected, it is the cause of much frustration that current animal cruelty legislation means that the accused is being charged with criminal damage, rather than animal cruelty.
In law, pets are currently deemed property, and the fact that the accused did not own the cats himself also means that animal cruelty legislation would be inappropriate to pursue. Bizarrely, animal cruelty is a less serious offence than criminal damage too.
In my parliamentary work I’ve been calling for animal cruelty legislative changes for some time, and trying to ensure that sentience is recognised in our animal welfare law in the UK. The Brighton cat killer case is an example of just why the Government should act and implement changes without delay.
At present the crimes of fly tipping and theft can receive higher sentences than animal cruelty. The Government has made some steps towards strengthening sentences for animal cruelty offences, but the changes they had proposed did not complete their passage through Parliament and therefore fell when Parliament was prorogued last year.
It leaves things in limbo, and I want to hold the Government to account, and keep up pressure for the required legislative changes to happen.
I’ve tabled 2 early day motions (EDMs) to try and draw attention to this issue, which I hope will receive cross-party support from other MPs.
If you live outside of my constituency, and would like to ask your MP to sign and support the EDMS, you can find their contact details here.
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