Cat protection: Law change bid to make drivers report hitting the household pet

Motorists who run over a cat would have to report it to police under a law change being called for at Westminster.

The move aims to ensure that cats receive the same protection as dogs and so fewer are left to die on the road.

The backbench legislation, proposed by Tory MP Rehman Chishti, would also require cat owners to have their pets microchipped, as is currently the case for dogs.

Mr Chishti’s Cats Bill is due to be debated in the Commons this week.

He told the Sunday Express: “There are around 11 million cats and they are part of people’s everyday lives.

“I think they bring people, immense happiness.

“If they’ve been tragically killed on the road, people do want closure.

“They want to know what’s happened to their loved one.”

Mr Chishti is being supported by the campaign group Cats Matter.

Co-founder Mandy Hobbis told the newspaper: “To ask that drivers be made aware of their responsibilities and stop and report incidents is a perfectly reasonable ask in a civilised and so-called animal-loving nation.

“Our fear is many cats are put down simply because there is no way of contacting owners.”

A government spokesman said: “As a nation of animal lovers, we recognise the distress that can be caused when a cat goes stray or becomes lost, which is why we strongly encourage owners to microchip their cats to give them the best chance of being reunited.”

Under the current law, drivers must stop and report the accident to the police if they hit:

:: Dogs
:: Horses
:: Cows
:: Pigs
:: Goats
:: Sheep
:: Donkeys and mules

This must be done as quickly as possible, whether the animal is killed or not.

(c) Sky News 2019: Cat protection: Law change bid to make drivers report hitting the household pet