My love for animals has led me to this petition. Animals, which have been bred and brought into our homes, deserve a life free from suffering, not to endure pain for our joy and amusement. It saddens me that, currently, the unlawful killing of these innocent creatures is not treated with the severity it deserves. I read an article with a man that did unspeakable things and tortured his pet animals for years, to the point their fight or flight mode stopped and they gave in. He only got 3 years! This angers me to my core and he will be back out and doing it again. It is not enough and we need to be a voice. 

Depending on the breed and dog individually, Dogs can have the same level of emotional intelligence and capabilities as that of a 2 to 2.5 year old human child. They can also count and have the ability to recognise and understand more than 150 words. We have now come to understand that dogs have the same brain structures that produce emotions in humans. They have the same hormones and go through the same chemical changes that humans do in times of stress or emotional states.

According to the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the maximum sentence for animal cruelty offenses can reach up to five years imprisonment or an unlimited fine. However, shockingly, the minimum sentence remains at just six months imprisonment or a fine of £20,000. This leniency undermines the seriousness of these crimes and fails to reflect society's growing concern for animal welfare.

So next time you read a headline about a case of animal cruelty, imagine the victim was a 2 and a half year old child. Unbearable to think about right?

The maximum sentence in the UK being increased to 5 years imprisonment is a phenomenal step forward for the future of animal welfare. 
Still, with this maximum sentence not even almost being met even in some of the worst cases of cruelty and neglect that the UK has ever seen, more needs to be done.

We call upon Parliament and relevant authorities within the UK justice system to take immediate action:

1) Increase the minimum sentence for animal cruelty cases from six months imprisonment.
2) Devise a way to monitor those who have a ban from keeping animals so they cannot have access to animals. As without these bans being monitored, the ban is not a valid way to prevent cruelty to other animals.
3) Impose far stricter measures or fines on those who do not face jail time for cases of severe cruelty or neglect.

In 2019 alone, the RSPCA investigated over 130,487 cruelty complaints, a number which tugs at heartstrings and calls out for urgent change. We must elevate the legal status of our pets from "property" to sentient beings with rights, and implement measures that would classify the act of unlawfully killing them as a specific offence, with punishment equal to murder.

Despite the fact that the Animals Acts of 1911 and 2006 in the UK have categorized cruelty towards animals as a punishable crime, the maximum sentence if found guilty is only 6 months to 5 years. This is but a small fraction of the penalty for human murder, which can carry a life sentence. This discrepancy undervalues the lives of our pets and does not sufficiently deter those that might harm them.

Since animals cannot voice their pain and torment, we, their caretakers, must raise ours to fight for their rights. We urge the government to respond to our plea and amend the current laws to ensure that our pets are safeguarded and those inflicting harm face the degree of punishment deserved. Sign our petition. Let's make a difference together.