China News Service, London, May 8th (Zhao Xingyi) The British government announced on the 8th that a pet theft task force was established to investigate and respond to the surge in pet theft cases during the epidemic.

　　The task force is composed of personnel from the government's Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Environmental Food and Rural Affairs, and will cooperate with police, law enforcement officials and experts to comprehensively consider and rectify the problem of pet theft, including the causes of pet theft, how to prevent, Theft reports, law enforcement and prosecution, etc., provide clear and timely recommendations on preventive methods to reduce pet theft.

　　The Secretary of State for the Environment George Eustice and the Secretary of the Interior Priti Patel said that the original intention of the working group was to combat the shameful crime of pet theft, so that people can feel at ease. Keep pets on the ground.

　　According to the records of the British “Dog Lost” charity, 172 pet dogs were reported stolen in 2019, and the number increased to 465 in 2020.

In March of this year, the crime of pet dog theft increased by 170%.

　　Rising market prices are the main reason for the increase in pet theft cases.

Since the first nationwide lockdown of the new crown epidemic in March 2020, the demand for pets by lonely people has surged, causing their prices to soar, and the prices of some varieties have risen by 89%.

Driven by interests, pet thefts are frequent, especially those that are popular on the Internet, such as French bulldogs, cockatoos, and pugs.

　　The British police reminded pet owners to take good care of their pets in public and not to take the same route every day when walking their dogs; to take basic safety measures at home, such as checking door locks; to be cautious when posting photos of pets on social media to avoid revealing the location理Location.

　　Animal protection activists said that although the law is expressly stipulated, the cost of the crime of stealing pets is still very low, and those who are caught rarely get punished. They call for more severe penalties for pet theft than for theft of property.

　　Experts have requested that the current pet microchip system be reformed to increase the chance of a stolen pet reuniting with its owner.

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