Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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1299. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in Ireland it is estimated that up to 48,000 dogs are stolen every year (details supplied); the plans her Department has in place to address this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20654/22]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Pet theft is an incredibly cruel crime which causes huge trauma for pet owners all over the country. I fully appreciate the strong emotional attachment we all have to our pets and that theft not only leads to their loss in our lives, but also a high level of concern for their welfare. It is also a crime which often affects, and is indeed often targeted against, older and particularly vulnerable people, for whom their pet is of huge emotional importance.

It is important to emphasise that theft offences already apply to this crime, and can carry very heavy penalties. The Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment in the case of offences of theft and handling of stolen property; while a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment is provided for the offence of possession of stolen property.

When imposing sentence, judges are not limited to considering the monetary value of a pet – the emotional distress to the victim caused by the offence is absolutely relevant and can be, and is, taken into account where appropriate. However, I acknowledge that the existing offence considers the offence as being one against property rather than a person or an animal and I am committed to examining the options to address the issue, including, if necessary, making legislative changes.

From an enforcement perspective, An Garda Síochána takes this issue very seriously and has conducted several important actions against those responsible. Gardaí have also disseminated information through the national Crime Prevention Officer Network regarding keeping animals secure and preventing these forms of theft. The Garda National Crime Prevention Unit's advice on pet safety, which is in line with the advice from animal welfare groups and animal insurance companies about keeping animals safe, can be viewed on the Garda website.

I would like to also emphasise the importance of microchipping. Every dog must be microchipped by the time it reaches 12 weeks of age, or earlier if it is sold or moved from its place of birth (Microchipping of Dogs Regulation 2015), and the microchip must be registered with an authorised database. Microchipping of all dogs protects the animals’ welfare, and assists with speedy identification of lost or stolen dogs and their owners. It is an offence to keep a dog over 12 weeks that has not been chipped and it is an offence to sell such a dog. Microchips can be easily checked at vets and by Gardaí. They are by far and away the most effective means of tracking and identifying dogs.

The Department of Agriculture have also made regulations covering the advertising for sale of animals under the Animal Welfare (Sale or Supply of Pets Regulations) 2019.

I am advised that An Garda Síochána record and investigate any report of the theft of a dog in line with their crime recording and investigation policies. Detection of dog theft is subject to intelligence led operations and the relevant information coming to hand.

To be of assistance to the Deputy, I have contacted the Garda Authorities and have been advised that the table below shows the number of incidents of reported dog theft in recent years.

Incident counts are based on reported date and were collated based on operational PULSE data as of 1:30am on the 19th of April 2022. Crime counting rules not applied and figures are provisional based on PULSE object descriptions of 'Dogs' within the 'Animals/Livestock/Poultry’ category and linked to reported incidents as ‘Stolen’. All figures are operational and subject to change.