Pet Theft
A Companion Animal Care Article from All-Creatures.org

This Companion Animal Care article is being presented to help people seeking reliable resources, tips, and information for companion animals.

FROM

Stolen Pets / Last Chance for Animals (LCA)
February 2016

Pet flipping" -- the practice of stealing animals and selling them -- is on the rise. Thieves may also use stolen pets for dogfight training or force the animals to breed at puppy mills.

Every Valentine's Day -- February 14 -- is Pet Theft Awareness Day, a time to spread the word about how to protect companion animals from thieves.

Pet thieves steal animals from yards, cars, or public areas, or may obtain them under false pretense through “free to good home” ads. It only takes a few seconds to steal an animal; when you tie your dog outside the coffee shop, leave them in your car or walk them without a leash, you leave them vulnerable to thieves.

LCA has a decades-long history of fighting pet theft by investigating and prosecuting Class B dealers who sell "random source" dogs and cats, many of them stolen pets, to medical research. LCA's work was documented in the HBO feature Dealing Dogs, and helped lead to a historic vote by Congress to ban all funding of B dealer licenses in 2016. As a result, all B dealers who sell dogs and cats to medical research will be forced to shut their doors this year. [See VICTORY! New Law Bans Class B Dealers!]

This is a groundbreaking victory for companion animals; but tragically, thieves still steal pets for a number of other purposes. "Pet flipping" -- the practice of stealing animals and selling them -- is on the rise. Thieves may also use stolen pets for dogfight training or force the animals to breed at puppy mills.

---

Return to Companion Animal Care
Return to Animal Rights Articles