15/05/2021
Pets are Sentient Beings!
Over the last week in the media, a lot has been made of our pets and their lack of rights in society and them being classed as a "Sentient Being". As Pet owners this is something we've known since we owned our first furry friend and something that has been too long in coming.
So, what does this mean and what can we do to help?
Last week George Eustice MP announced the setting up of a task force that was to investigate a pets standing in our society. In an interview on BBC Breakfast News he admitted that the government only has small amounts of data and that a lot of the data they do have is anecdotal. This includes things like cruelty, puppy farming, importing and exporting of pets and pet theft, along with this there are dogs out there that aren't micro-chipped which means that there's a population of dogs not getting health checks or vaccinations and in a position to pass on diseases like Parvo and Kennel Cough. The key to getting this recognised by the Task Force is Data and access to it from the correct sources. We can help by supplying the Data, but we must do it in the correct way for it to be recognised and taken into account.
Pet owners and Animal Lovers are passionate about the care that is or isn't given to our companions. The first thing to remember is you must use an official channel for it to be classed as data, I know there are people anxious about 'getting involved', fearing recriminations or being classed as an informer, there are ways of reporting incidents anonymously which I'll come to in a moment….. So who and where do we go to:
Police: Waste of time! I hear you shout. No it isn't, remember this is about Data and the Police have to record the incident and give you an incident number/crime number. They can only work to the law and at the moment pets are classed as a possession like your TV or bicycle, the more data the greater the chance of getting that law changed.
Animal Charity: All animal charities take incidents against animals seriously, will keep records and pass the information onto the right people. It's worth remembering that some animal charities specialise in particular species, so it's worth checking to make sure the charity you have chosen is correct for the incident.
Member of Parliament: Contact your MP by email and tell them about the incident and that you want it passed on to the task force. Don't forget to ask for an acknowledgement and keep telling them until you get that answer, don't let them sweep it under the carpet.
Crime Stoppers: This is where you can go and report any incident anonymously without any recriminations and know the report will always be passed on to the correct people. Make sure you keep any pertinent information from the screen just in case you need it in the future.
If we want our pets to be viewed in the eyes of the law as something more than a possession, then we need to supply the powers that be with the information they need. It's not a time to be procrastinating, political or anti-establishment, it's a time to repay our pets for the unconditional love and enjoyment they give us and place them as the family member we all know they are.
