Map reveals London’s most dangerous areas to own a pet: Islington, Lambeth and Bromley among the top animal theft hotspots

• Has your pet been stolen? Contact: [email protected]

By Dan Grennan[1]

Published: 07:19, 19 December 2023 | Updated: 08:45, 19 December 2023

Hounslow is the most dangerous place to own a pet in London[2] - with almost double the number of thefts compared to the second most dangerous - according to new data.

There were 93 pets - of which 50 were birds taken in a single incident - stolen from owners in Hounslow from January to November this year with a total of 654 taken across London in the same period.

Brent was the next worst borough for pet thefts at 50 while Islington had 37, making it the third highest, and Bromley and Lambeth were joint fourth with 28 reported pet thefts.

Meanwhile, Richmond upon Thames and Havering were the safest boroughs to have a pet with both reporting just six thefts since January.

Dogs were the most common victim to pet theft with 335 stolen from January to November this year.

The total number is down significantly from 2022 when it hit the highest on record with 1713 animals reported stolen.

Pictured: A graph showing the London Boroughs with the highest to lowest number of pet thefts

Leon Markowski, 2, and his father were devastated after their pet Chihuahua, Strawberry, (pictured) was stolen from Hackney by someone posing as a dog rescue worker

Leon, two, with his dog Strawberry before the Chihuahua was stolen from Hackney by someone posing as a rescue worker

Cats were the next most stolen pet with 143 reports followed by birds at 113. Other animals, including fish, counted for 63.

The Met Police figures reveal that just six per cent of reported stolen pets were returned to owners.

The force advised owners to get their beloved pets microchipped where possible, report all thefts and warned owners not to leave pets unattended in gardens.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw a huge increase in the numbers of dogs stolen from heartbroken owners due to the price of designer pups skyrocketing during the pandemic.

In figures collected by insurance company Direct Line earlier this year, American Bulldogs, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and French Bulldogs were the breeds most at risk of dognapping.

The vast majority of owners never see their beloved pet again after they are stolen but one of the fortunate victims was Claire Hashem, whose dog Buddy was stolen from outside a shop in Hayes, west London earlier this year.

Claire's collie-corgi cross serves as a support dog for her 10-year-old autistic son Ruben.

'I got very upset and nervous (when Buddy was stolen),' she told the BBC[3].

'I tried to look for him straight away. I went up and down the street, I couldn't see any trace of Buddy.'

The three-year-old Jack Russell terrier, Lola, who was stolen from Lisa Eastwell's driveway in Havering on November 18

Mrs Eastwell's children Emily, Hollie and Ellie pictured with Lola (tan) and her sister Daisy (black) as puppies before the dogs were stolen from their home in Havering

Claire then turned to volunteer groups who helped her put up posters and take the search to the streets.

Thankfully, after two days, Buddy was found.

Nationally, approximately six dogs a day are stolen with just one in four being reunited with their owners.

Victims of this crime in the UK include former BBC Technology correspondent Rory-Cellan Jones as well as the daughter of the late entertainer Bruce Forsyth.

Mr Cellan-Jones' dog, Cabbage, was one of six which was stolen from a professional dog walker in west London in November 2021.

There was an attempt to make pet theft a crime in its own right that would carry a two-year jail sentence due to the sharp increase in dognapping.

At present, dog theft is not defined as a specific crime with pets classed as 'property' under the Theft Act 1968.

Despite the current act including a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, the Kennel Club say that less than five per cent of cases result in a criminal conviction.

Campaigners also argue it equates stealing a beloved family dog to taking a phone or bike.

The amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would create a specific offence for pet thefts.

Offenders would face up to two years in jail and factors such as if the pets are stolen for commercial gain and whether distress is caused to the pet, its owner or dog walker would aggravate the offence.

Previously, a father and son were left heartbroken after dognappers posing as rescue centre workers hoodwinked them and stole their missing GBP4,000 dog[4].

Sebastian Markowski, 28, and his son Leon, 2, from London, were devastated when their two-year-old Chihuahua - called Strawberry - vanished on 21 June this year.

Sattar Abdul, 44, stole a GBP3,000 pet parrot (pictured) from a park, then released it into the wild before it was reportedly killed by a fox

Mr Markowski later got a call to say that their pet, who is pregnant, was then found under a BMW near their home.

And in another case, a family was left distraught after a brazen thief stole their three-year-old Jack Russell terrier[5] from their driveway last month.

Mother-of-six Lisa Eastwell, 43, said she was unable to console her children since the callous theft outside the family home on November 18.

Mrs Eastwell said she and her husband had taken their children out for food after spending the afternoon seeing Father Christmas while shopping.

They placed their four dogs - two Jack Russell terriers and two labradors - in the back garden of the home in Havering-Atte-Bower, on the border of Essex and north-east London.

The family later returned to find Lola missing, and it was only when watching CCTV footage that they learned what had happened.

Mrs Eastwell said: 'I felt sick to my stomach - my heart just sank.

I didn't say anything to the children, but I thought, "We're not going to see her again".'

CCTV showed that while the family were out, Lola became frightened by fireworks and escaped from the back garden, running along the side of the house to the front drive.

Abdul, 44, attracted Sura the macaw into his car and made an unsuccessful bid to also grab another bird before making off from Richmond Park (pictured), south west London

In another shocking incident, an Uber[6] driver avoided jail after he stole a GBP3,000 pet parrot from a park, then released it into the wild before it was reportedly killed by a fox[7].

Sattar Abdul, 44, attracted Sura the macaw into his car and made an unsuccessful bid to also grab another bird before making off from Richmond Park, south west London[8] which is in Richmond upon Thames.

He then drove the exotic animal around 25 miles to his home in Chadwell Heath, east London, before returning to the park the next day to release the parrot when he realised could not care for it properly.

Sura was then said to have been mauled by a fox and died, police said.

Has your pet been stolen? Contact: [email protected]

LondonUBER[9][10]

References

1. ^ Dan Grennan (www.dailymail.co.uk)
2. ^ London (www.dailymail.co.uk)
3. ^ BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
4. ^ a father and son were left heartbroken after dognappers posing as rescue centre workers hoodwinked them and stole their missing GBP4,000 dog (www.dailymail.co.uk)
5. ^ a family was left distraught after a brazen thief stole their three-year-old Jack Russell terrier (www.dailymail.co.uk)
6. ^ Uber (www.dailymail.co.uk)
7. ^ avoided jail after he stole a GBP3,000 pet parrot from a park, then released it into the wild before it was reportedly killed by a fox (www.dailymail.co.uk)
8. ^ London (www.dailymail.co.uk)
9. ^ London (www.dailymail.co.uk)
10. ^ UBER (www.dailymail.co.uk)