Change for Cats in The Road Traffic Act 1988
Change for Cats in The Road Traffic Act 1988
The Issue
The Road Traffic Act 1988 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, concerning licensing of vehicles, insurance and road regulation.
Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop andreport an accident involving specified animals including horses, cattle ass, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats. This requirement arises from the status of working animals rather than domestic pets.
The Cats Bill is a proposed Bill which calls for a change to the Road Traffic Act, making it a legal requirement that any driver involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to a cat must to stop and give information or report the accident to the police. At a glance or with a quick google search, it appears that the call for change is in progress, with organisations such as Cats Matter and with the Cats Bill having been spoken about in the news as if it close to being implemented. This leads people to believe that change is coming in the near future.
However, the Cats Bill was first read in parliament on the 23rd July 2018 and the bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. As a result, cats remain unrecognised within UK law, and motorists can legally hit a cat and leave it in the road to die.
On 18/04/2021 my lovely moggie, Sally, was hit by a car and left in the road. She was only 16 months old and so full of life.
If cats are included in the Road Traffic Act alongside dogs and other working animals; not only are they more likely to survive if a driver is required to stop and attend to the cat, but, when cats are killed by motorists, owners are much more likely to be made aware straight away, and much more likely to be able to collect their body, and as a result, cats can be put to rest how their owner wishes.
To every pet owner out there, whether you’re a cat owner or not, our pets should not be legally unimportant. Sign this petition and call for change.
Let’s stop cats being disposable on UK roads.
The Issue
The Road Traffic Act 1988 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, concerning licensing of vehicles, insurance and road regulation.
Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop andreport an accident involving specified animals including horses, cattle ass, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats. This requirement arises from the status of working animals rather than domestic pets.
The Cats Bill is a proposed Bill which calls for a change to the Road Traffic Act, making it a legal requirement that any driver involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to a cat must to stop and give information or report the accident to the police. At a glance or with a quick google search, it appears that the call for change is in progress, with organisations such as Cats Matter and with the Cats Bill having been spoken about in the news as if it close to being implemented. This leads people to believe that change is coming in the near future.
However, the Cats Bill was first read in parliament on the 23rd July 2018 and the bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. As a result, cats remain unrecognised within UK law, and motorists can legally hit a cat and leave it in the road to die.
On 18/04/2021 my lovely moggie, Sally, was hit by a car and left in the road. She was only 16 months old and so full of life.
If cats are included in the Road Traffic Act alongside dogs and other working animals; not only are they more likely to survive if a driver is required to stop and attend to the cat, but, when cats are killed by motorists, owners are much more likely to be made aware straight away, and much more likely to be able to collect their body, and as a result, cats can be put to rest how their owner wishes.
To every pet owner out there, whether you’re a cat owner or not, our pets should not be legally unimportant. Sign this petition and call for change.
Let’s stop cats being disposable on UK roads.
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Petition created on 19 April 2021