Petition making it a legal requirement for drivers to stop and report collisions with cats will fail

A petition on the UK government website has 102,436 signatures. It was open for 6 months. Its demand is to "Make it a legal requirement for drivers to stop & report collisions with cats". This is a campaign that has been going on for a long time (since at least 2014). It is a good campaign. Drivers have to stop and report accidents with other animals including horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats or wild animals. 

Image: MikeB

Because it reached over 100k signatures it has to be debated in the House of Commons. It will be next week. But it is a waste of time because the government will not enact new legislation to comply with the petition. Their reason?

Here is the Department of Transport response on the petition website:

"The Government has no plans to make it an offence to drive off after hitting a cat. A focus for this Government is to make roads safer for all users, which will in turn reduce the risk to all animals. 

Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop and report an accident involving specified animals including horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats or wild animals. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets. To introduce such a measure within the provision of section 170 would require primary legislation. 

Having a law making it a requirement to report road accidents involving cats would be very difficult to enforce and we have reservations about the difference it would make to the behaviour of drivers, who are aware that they have run over a cat and do not report it. 

Although there is no obligation to report all animal deaths on roads, Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any accident involving an animal to the police, and if possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals and advise them of the situation. 

The Government recognises how distressing it can be for someone to lose a pet, especially without knowing what has happened. We committed in our Manifesto, and reaffirmed in our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, to introducing compulsory cat microchipping and plan to introduce the necessary legislation this year. We understand that the vast majority of local authorities now have arrangements in place to scan dead cats and dogs found by them and we will continue working with them and other stakeholders to develop and promote best practice in this area. " - Department for Transport.

That was a massive campaign by some great women to plug a loophole in UK legislation which is unfair on domestic cats. 

The underlying reason why the government won't make new law on this is because they are too busy trying to fix so many profound problems in what many people believe is a broken Britain.

Katie Price should be banned from owning pets. Discuss.

NEWS AND COMMENT: Recent news media reports indicate two stark facts about Katie Price's ownership of companion animals (1) she has lost six pets through accidental death during her time as a caregiver and (2) she's recently lost her sixth, a pet pooch, who ran into the road and was run over by a car outside her home.

Price with puppy Captain. Image: her Instagram channel.

Her disastrous attempts at companion animal ownership have resulted in observers of this British celebrity calling for her to be banned from owning any more companion animals. She is a slow-motion car crash when it comes to companion animal ownership. Note: to be banned she'd have to be prosecuted in the criminal courts for animal cruelty and that is highly unlikely.

Katie Price is reportedly in "bits" over the loss of her pet pooch. The dog's death on the road was reported as "rotten luck" by The Sun newspaper. Apparently, the dog ran out into the road after a gate to her property was opened. Looks more like carelessness to me.

"A puppy has died in the last 24 hours in Katie Price's 'care' she bought this puppy for her 13-year-old child 3 weeks ago. Which was killed in an accident no one witnessed." - the petition on change.org.

I'm going to speculate about the pooch's death because this is an opinion piece. Katie Price wants to go out perhaps to her car with her dog. She opens the gate without her dog being on a lead. Outside her home is a road. The dog in their excitement runs into the road. A car comes by. The car hits and kills her dog. Would it not have been better if she'd had her dog on a leash at that time bearing in mind that there is road traffic outside her home? This points to careless dog ownership.

We are told by the Mirror newspaper that more than 24,000 people have signed a petition which claims that Katie's pets are dying due to a lack of proper care. They say that no more animals need to die and a ban should be in place against her.

The catalogue of animal deaths in her care is rather startling. Back in 2017 one of Katie's horses was killed after it was struck by a vehicle. 12 months later, a driver ran over her Alsatian, Queenie.

And then her pet chameleon died of a 'broken heart' in the same year when her children went to stay with their dad Peter Andre.

And then, Price's Alsatian Sparkle was struck by another car in 2020. And then months later her French Bulldog Rolo was apparently suffocated when her nanny sat on the dog!

Apparently, she was forced to give up another Alsatian dog called Bear because the animal was attacking other animals. More careless companion animal ownership.

We are told that Ms Price is devastated about the petition demanding that she be banned from owning animals. She currently owns chihuahuas Captain, Buddy and Batman. She also currently owns a guard dog called Blade. How long will they last?

"Katie is aware of this petition. It comes as a devastating blow as it is wholly biased, based on hearsay and not actual fact. Katie loves her animals, to say otherwise is incorrect, unjust and unkind, it couldn’t be further from the truth." - a spokesperson for Katie. Comment: yes, she likes animals and cares but is far too damned careless and chaotic to be a fit and proper caregiver.

The petition apparently claims that Katie Price had puppies which allegedly drowned in a neglected swimming pool. And also, one of her cats was ripped apart by her dogs (by Bear perhaps?).

Katie Price lives in a "Mucky Mansion". That is a reference to a disorganised and untidy and perhaps dirty large house which appears to be outside a busy road judging by the number of animals of hers killed on the road. She gave her mansion a facelift recently. A temporary respite to the muckiness.

You would have thought that she would have learnt her lesson by now to keep dogs on a lead when she leaves her home.

Katie Price has been involved in several road accidents and criminal behaviour (drunk driving and driving without insurance for example) regarding driving as I recall. She has avoided jail by some miracle. She appears to live a chaotic life with scant regard for animal welfare.

P.S. She pops over to Turkey regularly for some cheap plastic surgery top ups. Her boobs perhaps or her face. It is never ending. Troubled person? Looks like it.