British Member of Parliament Rehman Chishti is seeking to introduce legislation under which any motorist who runs over a cat and callously drives off could be fined up to £20,000 (around $25,436).
The MP for Gillingham and Rainham wants to get the new law passed to ensure that people don’t simply leave injured or dying cats suffering by the roadside.
As well as ensuring all cats be microchipped so that their carers can be easily contacted in the event of an accident, the proposed ‘Cats Bill’ would place a legal requirement on motorists who knock down a cat to inform a local vet. If the driver doesn’t report the accident, they would face a significant fine.
In the UK, even if a motorist hits and kills a cat, the driver isn’t legally obliged to report it under the Road Traffic Act (1988). The Act does, however, require drivers to report if they hit a dog, so this change in legislation would offer felines the same level of protection as canines currently, and rightly, enjoy in Britain.
“There are 11.1 million cats in the UK, and they are often regarded as a member of the family, bringing immense happiness and joy to their owners,” Chishti states on his website. “This is why their welfare should be a priority at every level.”
“Cats that have been hit often are in critical condition and so the quicker they are seen by a vet, the better,” said Mandy Lowe, co-founder of the Cats Matter campaign group, speaking to Yahoo News UK. “A fine is one of those things we have pushed for hardest, simply so there is a comeuppance ensuring drivers think twice about leaving them in the road.”
“We figure if people can’t do the right thing out of compassion for an animal, they will with the threat of financial burden,” Lowe added. “Offences under the Animal Welfare Act can see offenders pay up to £20,000 or jail time, and we want this legislation to come under that.”
According to Cats Matter, approximately 230,000 cats are run over each year in the UK, equivalent to a car hitting a feline every 2.5 minutes. A horrifying statistic.
If you find an injured or deceased animal on the road, take them to the nearest vet who will be able to treat the animal or contact their carer.
What’s New…
EXCELLENT Law.
WHO EVER IT MAY BE, RUN OVER THE INNOCENT HELPLESS ANIMALS ARE CRIMINALS. Punshment must be given to fit their cruel acts thrown upon the Voiceless.
I support a law that a driver must report if a cat is hit by a vehicle
Passing a law that would protect injured cats is a must
The law must be fair to all animals. Cats are living beings and laws for them should be as important as it is for dogs.
Yes, you can’t leave an animal to suffer in agony while cars just pass over them in this terrifying moment.
I for careful and humane attitude to all animals
I for careful and humane attitude to all animals
Help all animals when an accident happens.
Animals need to be looked after and this will help.
How wonderful would it be if this can get passed! Motorists are self-serving and have no regard for animals on the road. I saw a car hit a cat and several other cars that kept driving; the cat, luckily, landed on the other side of the road and I managed to get to it before a truck passed by. If someone is hit with a hefty fine then they will start to have regard for animals, so I’m all for this!!!! When it comes to animal cruelty in all forms I have the key to ending cruelty! That is, amputate a perpetrators finger, issue a criminal conviction, confisgate passport, do community service for 5 years, banned from ever owning animals again, wear ankle braclet for 5 years and must report to authorities once a month for 5 years! Only when the consequences are so dire will animal cruelty cease to exist! Now, all governments, world wide, need to do is grow some balls and implement this strategy! Children are no exception and parents are responsible for outlining the consequences! This is the only way!
I sign. I care a lot. I love cats. Makes me sad people run over cats in the U.K. A lot.
I sign I care.
I sign I care.
This should be required for dogs as well.
This is excellent news and the law must be passed. As for punishments, drop the ‘up to xyz’, the fines or imprisonment for ALL offences should be mandatory ‘xyz’. After all, whenever is an offender of ANY crime given the maximum sentence ? The too many do-gooders are even saying that whole life sentences are not fair as those serving them have nothing to look forward to !! Bring back the death sentence.
Find this person and feed him to crocs or lions. No jail. Taxpayers not burdened with their upkeep in prisons!!!!
That is great news. Nothing worse than starting out your day seeing a dead animal on the road, but, more importantly the suffering the poor animal is going through. How careless & heartless can a person be??
Good luck with enforcing that law!! It would be great if it were possible though………….
Good start. Let’s keep it going. Animals deserve justice.
One small step against mankind, one major attempt to honor animals. While I understand the thinking behind this law, I think it is very flawed. This law, as written, protects the guilty. I believe making it mandatory for ALL owned cats to be chipped is a step in a better direction. AND! it should be mandatory for ALL domesticated cats to be indoors. Then, when a cat is injured or killed by a car, THE CAT OWNER SHOULD BE PROSECUTED OR FINED for breaking the law! Prosecuting an innocent driver, to me, is like blaming the beer maker after an intoxicated jerk injures or kills a person. Laws SHOULD NOT be complicit in supporting animal neglect.
I agree…………cats are safest as indoor pets. Mine are & do not want to go outside…..ever. People who let their pets run around at large should be charged for neglect…..irresponsible care. Cities & towns are teeming with predators….including people who poison them or use them for target practice for using their gardens as a bathroom, not to mention all the predator wildlife now living in the urban areas….Coyotes, Foxes, birds of prey, etc…..there are tons of them. I live two blocks from downtown in my city & watched a Coyote cross in front of my car in broad daylight at the corner of my street in the residential area. My detached garage always has cats looking for shelter in it during subzero winter days & nights — their owners should be charged with animal cruelty & neglect & locked outdoors during this weather & made to sleep in my unheated garage at night.
Cats have rights too, and you can’t blame them – they do mark their territories and have no concept of the road. Whilst there may be accidents with cats, there still should be a law so that the driver, at fault or otherwise, will have a clear conscience by reporting the incident.
Whether that is death or injury, it saves a lot of time in the long run for all concerned, including the cat’s owners.
drivers need to be accountable. I had a cat hit in front of my house. human said “just a cat” and left. My cat got me through cancer treatment, was my partner’s best feline friend for long time.
Good move,
ABOUT TIME………GREAT NEWS….LET’S GET IT PASSED ASAP!!
stop running over cats
Pass it into law and bring it to the US! Enough abuse and carelessness of sentient animals. Enough!
All animals matter. This is a step in the right direction.
What kind of person who would hurt somethingcthat loves unconditional and did not do anythingvwrong to them? It just gets me sick to my stomach
if anyone runs over a animal, they should help the animal.
This type of cruelty done towards totally innocent animals are never or CANNOT BE GOOD HUMANS. They are pure Evil & very vicious cruel individuals. PLEASE PUNISH THEM TO THE FULLEST EXTEND. ALSO PLEASE BRING FORTH THE NEW LAWS PROTECT ANIMALS FROM SUCH TYPE OF EVIL PEOPLE. This cannot be allowed to continue…until you introduce much stuffer punishments these cruelty will go on. PLEASE WAKE UP…PLEASE PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE MOST VULNERABLE & DEFENSELESS ANIMALS FROM THIS TYPE OF ABUSERS.
Outrageous and cruel, and must be stopped.
About time too, cats are as much moved as dogs. Hope it gets passed into law.
I believe this will be a good law for animals.
Wonderful! About time drivers are punished for driving over an animal!!
EXCELLENT IDEA — especially the PENALTY / FINE — this should make someone think twice about speeding, killing animals to suffer and maybe die — I hope this Bill reverberates throughout the WORLD.
Good.
This people need to be punished for what they are doing
Excellente idée! la souffrance animale a autant d’impact pour moi que la souffrance humaine(parfois plus…cela dépend des “humains”)
I think this is a great idea. People please keep.your cats indoors
Exactly. I feel those individuals who let their cats roam outdoors really don’t care about them, in the first place. They don’t want to be bothered with a litter box, feeding them prepared food, keeping them out of danger from fights(w/other cats) or moving vehicles, or worry about scratched-up furniture. These human need to be banned from possessing pets if they do not want to shoulder the responsibility.
About time!!
I think it’s a good thing to do student happend but er are resonsible to ser if the animal are a live or need help. People to ny people dont care at all so maybe if people bring in dead ør alive animal the owner will also know what happend with their vel over pets
Seriously? Someone needs to wake up in the real world. There are so many feral cats running around, it is ridiculous.
Im happy to see things r changing for the good tks to god.
this is a great idea… accidents happen.. but, aside from the fact that people should NOT allow their cat to roam… there are nasty people who will run over them on purpose. these people who need to be stopped!!
Exactly! Those people need to be fined and imprisoned for a long enough time to impress them.