Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to publish the number of reported (a) animal welfare crimes and (b) pet thefts between February 2020 and December 2020 in (i) England and (ii) Wales.

The Home Office collects information from police forces in England on Wales on offences covered by the notifiable offence list. This is generally restricted to indictable offences, that are heard before a crown court, and triable either way offences, that commence in a magistrates court but may be heard in a crown court. Animal welfare crimes are not covered by the notifiable offence list.

Whilst pet thefts are covered by the notifiable offence list it is not possible to separately identify these crimes from others in the wider offence category of theft offences.