Dog abduction
Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/26/009330/N
Version Date: 23/01/2026
The Performance & Analysis Department has provided the following information:
Searches were completed in Niche for crimes and outcomes from 1 September 2024 to 31 December 2025 with a filter applied to ‘Abduction of pet dog or pet cat’.
Data Limitations/Caveats:
Data is based on the principal crime counting rule. If a pet is stolen during a more serious offence, the pet abduction will not be picked up during our search, as it is the lesser offence.
The offence of Pet Abduction came into place in May 2024 - when new offences come into place, there is always a transition period, meaning figures may be low due to the change in recording processes.
Whilst we do not have a property report, a manual review was carried out of the offences found and details obtained manually.
It is important to note, not all details pertaining to an offence may be recorded or may be available in the crime OEL, as such, some details may be missed or may not be available.
There is no specific offence for dog abduction, but rather an offence covering both cats and dogs - the manual review carried out identified the offences pertaining to dogs specifically.
Dog abduction became a specific criminal offence under the Pet Abduction Act 2024.
1. For the period 1 September 2024 to 31 December 2025, please provide the number of dog abduction offences recorded per month by your force under the Pet Abduction Act 2024.
|
|
Year |
|
|
|
Month |
2024 |
2025 |
Grand Total |
|
January |
N/A |
0 |
0 |
|
February |
N/A |
4 |
4 |
|
March |
N/A |
0 |
0 |
|
April |
N/A |
3 |
3 |
|
May |
N/A |
3 |
3 |
|
June |
N/A |
1 |
1 |
|
July |
N/A |
4 |
4 |
|
August |
N/A |
0 |
0 |
|
September |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
October |
2 |
3 |
5 |
|
November |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
December |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
Grand Total |
7 |
24 |
31 |
- For each dog abduction offence recorded during this period, what outcome was recorded for the offence (for example, the relevant Home Office Outcome Code and description, or any force-specific outcome description used)?
(No personal data is requested.)
Please note, the outcome date and crimed dates are different, the year below is when the offence was crimed, not the outcome year.
|
|
Year |
|
|
|
Crime outcome |
2024 |
2025 |
Grand Total |
|
Action Against Suspect Not in Public Interest |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Evidential Difficulties - Victim Declines |
2 |
3 |
5 |
|
Investigation Complete: No Suspect - Case Closed |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Investigation Ongoing |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Not in the Public Interest - Police |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Suspect Identified - Evidential Difficulties |
0 |
14 |
14 |
|
Victim no Support |
2 |
4 |
6 |
|
Grand Total |
7 |
24 |
31 |
- For dog abduction offences recorded between 1 September 2024 and 31 December 2025, please provide an aggregate breakdown showing how the following characteristics were recorded:
Breed (including "unknown" or equivalent categories)
Sex (including "unknown" or equivalent categories)
Age (including "unknown" or equivalent categories)
|
|
Year |
|
|
|
Description |
2024* |
2025 |
Grand Total |
|
Female chihuahua cross patterdale, no further details identified |
1 |
- |
1 |
|
15 weeks old, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
2 year old female french bull dog |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
3 x dogs, no details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Approx 5 year old female, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Female boxer, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Female, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Female yorkie poo, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Male french bull dog, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Male german shepherd, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Husky, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
6 month old male staffy cross mastiff |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Male german shorthaired pointer, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Puppy (age not identified) labradodle cross cockapoo, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Puppy (age not identified) staffy cross mastiff, no further details identified |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
No details identified |
6 |
10 |
16 |
|
Grand Total |
7 |
24 |
31 |