50 signatures reached
To: Simon Hoare MP, UK government
Make it illegal to drive off after hitting a cat
The impact on a persons' mental health when their cat is hit by a car can be profound and devastating. Cat owners should be entitled to the same due process as dog owners. Being allowed to hit someones loved pet and not stop is absolutely awful, for the family to then not know where their cat is and spend days/months searching for their loved pet when someone knows what happened is not acceptable. Cats are just as loved as dogs.
Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop & report accidents involving specific animals including dogs, but not cats. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets, but many dogs are pets, not working animals so the rules should apply for cats also.
Motorists should be required to report collisions with cats in the same way as collisions with dogs, so that the cat's owners can be informed. Many cat owners feel excluded by the law, and are left heart broken after finding their cat deceased at the side of the road or never finding their cat after they've been hit due to them hiding away suffering.
Why is this important?
After losing our beautiful mainecoon cat due to a careless driver, I was shocked to read that it is not a legal requirement for drivers to stop if they are to hit a cat whilst driving, this absolutely blows my mind - it is a legal requirement for drivers to stop for other animals such as dogs, horses, pigs etc but why should cats not be included within this law? They are just as loved as any other animal. The impact it has on a family having to deal with their pet being killed and left is unexplainable until it happens to you, the on going questioning and wondering in your mind. It makes it very hard to get closure and move forward and grieve as you rightly should.
There are so many incidents of this happening - only takes a minute to look through social media and see how many people are upset/angry/devastated that someone has left their loved pet to die! Surely something has to change, people deserve to have answers just as they would if their pet was a dog and so on.
Please sign if you agree cats deserve the same compassion as other 'working animals'.
Cats are still loved and are still part of someone's family.
