UPDATE:- ‘When an election’s called the site is closed and all petitions fall. The current Committee can’t take decisions on behalf of the next Committee (as the Chair and membership could be entirely different). However, there is nothing to stop the new Committee scheduling debates on petitions from the last Parliament.

In practice the way a new Committee meets and re-opens the site means that there will almost certainly be a few weeks where there are no new petitions ready for debate in the new Parliament, and so the strong recommendation to the Committee is that they schedule petitions that would have otherwise had a debate before an election. This is what happened after the 2017 election, and it seems like a good precedent to follow. After today, the Pet Theft Reform petition is the next one to be debated so while they can’t guarantee that it would definitely be debated after an election, It would be expect any new Committee to give it full consideration and hopefully decide to schedule it. They will publish an FAQ if an election is called, and it will make clear the view of the current Committee that existing petitions should be considered for debate, so anyone who has signed a petition will be able to see that as a guide to what may happen.’ Dr. Daniel Allen. 30th October 2019.

On hold:- Invite your MP to attend, template letter for you:- http://www.stolenandmissingpetsalliance.co.uk/write-to-your-mp/

#PetTheftBill UPDATE: The Pet(Theft) Bill 2nd Reading has been lost as Parliament has been prorogued!

#PetTheftReform petition is now closed: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/244530

Dr Daniel Allen, Animal Geographer at Keele University and SAMPA patron has explained why we need Pet Theft Reform:

Dog theft on the rise: how in danger is your pet and what can be done about it? https://theconversation.com/dog-theft-on-the-rise-how-in-danger-is-your-pet-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-125010

Spatialities of Dog Theft: A Critical Perspective: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/5/209

Professor John Cooper QC (Legal Adviser) produced the Pet (Theft) Bill:- https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2017-2019/0245/cbill_2017-20190245_en_2.htm#l1g1

Beverley Cuddy (SAMPA Patron) produced the Pet Theft document brief:- http://bit.ly/PETTHEFTDEBATE

A lot of work has gone into to this as you can see, please get involved.

#LucysLaw did it to stop puppy farming and #FinnsLaw is in place to protect working police dogs, now it’s our turn to protect our own pets.

Make ALL pets safer, keep emailing your MPs to let them know how important this issue is especially to you as a pet owner. Keep the pressure on.