Four out of five dogs stolen in Kent are not found again

Four out of every five dogs reported stolen to Kent Police over the last five years are still missing, according to data obtained by the BBC.

Some 680 dogs were reported stolen between 2018-2022, but only 147 were found.

Kent Police said it would do all it could to reunite victims with their animals, and identify the perpetrators.

Supt Pete Steenhuis said: "Last year in around 30% of the cases we were able to reunite owners with their dogs".

He added: "They are either removed out of the county quickly, or sometimes out of the country quickly, which makes it hard to recover specialist breeds."

There has been a steady increase in dog thefts in Kent, in 2018 there were 108 reports, which rose by 59% to 172 in 2022.

Mr Steenhuis said opportunist thieves and organised crime groups targeted particular dogs.

"Make sure that if your dog is left in the garden, it's not left out alone for a long period of time, that you have got security lighting and CCTV to protect your premises," he said.

Campaigners hope government plans to introduce a new pet theft offence will lead to tougher sentences.

Dr Daniel Allen, a lecturer in human geography at Keele University and the co-founder of Pet Theft Reform, said: "It will ensure stolen animals are regarded as sentient beings and they are not simply seen as monetary objects.

"It will allow courts to access a five year maximum sentence for abducting pets".

A government spokesman said: "We launched the Pet Theft Taskforce and are implementing its recommendations which include the creation of a new pet abduction offence; identifying and tracking cases of pet theft; and microchipping reform to strengthen the process of transferring keepership and prevent the creation of duplicate records."

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