Corona Daily 131: UK’s Puppy Mafia

Tilly was snatched from her bed, Moet grabbed from her home, Angel carried off from her garden. A thief showed a knife to a former boxer to steal his Rosie. Nala disappeared with her dog walker’s van. Denzel and Welly, a pair of Labradors were carried off from an upscale supermarket.

In The Canine Year, I wrote about a pandemic boom to the dog business. In the UK, its dark twin has emerged. Britain is facing a huge dog stealing crime wave. This week 27 stolen dogs, including spaniels, a French bulldog, terriers, and a Rottweiler were seized in Essex. In a raid in Suffolk in March, 83 dogs were seized. The crime is becoming so acute; Nottinghamshire has appointed a “dog theft police officer” – a novel designation.

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Since the pandemic began, nearly 3.2 million UK households have bought an animal companion. As a result, prices for dogs have gone through the roof, two to five times more expensive. The extraordinarily high demand means rescue shelters are out of mutts. Desperate people have paid £3000 in a parking lot to buy a puppy with no papers and no shots. A litter of six puppies can yield £10,000. A stolen smart phone is worth a few hundred pounds, but a stolen dog can fetch thousands.

This is an average price list for the top end breeds: Chow Chow (£3700), Golden Retriever (£3360), English Bulldog (£3300), Cavapoo (£3030), Golden Doodle (£2976), Miniature Schnauzer (£2930), Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (£2784), Standard poodle (£2770), Cockapoo (£2740), Labradoodle (£2700).

This has led to the emergence of a new “puppy mafia”. Those dealing earlier with prostitution, guns and drugs have added this lucrative line to their business.

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One organization that deals with missing dogs had 400 cases just in England. None of them had run off or lost their way. They were all stolen.

British law requires that puppy buyers should see the puppy’s mother before buying the puppy. Puppies must be microchipped with their contact details, and accompanied by paperwork from licenced operators. Buyers are either not aware of the law, or don’t bother about obeying it. The dog thieves remove the microchips via crude surgery, or with a pair of pliers, or disable them with powerful magnets.

Thieves look for good breeds, preference being fertile females. They are stolen from stationary cars, yards, outside stores and kennels. Those selling puppies on the internet are targeted. First an innocent fake customer visits and makes notes of the layout of the house. Thieves visit the same place later and take the puppies away without paying for them.

Stolen male dogs are quickly sold off in the black market. Females are sent to illegal breeding farms.

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In Britain, stealing dogs is a high-reward, low-risk business. Because English law treats dogs as property, with punishment in line with the value of the object. Prosecutions are rare; in 2019 only 1% resulted in conviction. Even when convicted, the criminals are usually sent home with a fine of £250.

London’s puppy mafia has become more brazen and violent as a result. Like purse-snatchers, they are now willing to slash at owner’s or walker’s wrists to nab the dog.

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It is time the law is changed. It considers a dog as an object similar to a mobile phone, TV or car stereo. Even an expensive TV stolen from the house can be replaced. But to an owner, a stolen dog is like a kidnapped child. For causing that emotional trauma a convicted thief may escape by paying a £250 fine.

Two petitions with hundreds of thousands of signatures have now urged the authorities to take action. They want dog stealing to be a serious offence, punishable by eight years in prison and £5000 in fines. The UK parliament will debate the matter now. Whatever the parliament decides, if you live in Britain and own a dog, be on your guard.  

Ravi