Pets can be a very emotive subjects on separation and divorce. Currently they are treated in the same way as an inanimate object but is this about to change? There are several bills being considered by parliament which may have an impact on developing legislation in future.
One bill in the final stages of amendment prior to royal ascent is the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill to formally recognise animals as sentient beings. The bill covers all vertebrate animals (apart from homo sapiens), but not only does it encompass the fluffy and cute it also recognises cephalopod molluscs such as octopuses, squid and cuttlefish and decapod crustacean such as crabs and lobsters. The legislation also provides for the creation of an Animal Sentience Committee which is intended to ensure that animal sentience, such as the fact that animals can experience feelings such as pain and joy, is taken in to account by the government when developing future policies.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, currently still going through the House of Commons, introduces the new criminal offence of dog abduction. Whereby previously the theft of a dog was categorised as a loss of property, this new offence will take into account the emotional distress caused to both the owner and the dog, allowing Judges to hand down more targeted penalties and fines to pet thieves. Also, the bill provides that in the future this offence could be extended to cover other kinds of pets. One thing to consider is that at this stage people classed as a connected person to the owner of the dog: a spouse, civil partner, parent or sibling do not commit the offence if they take or detain the dog.
As of yet neither of these bills have been enshrined in law and may change through further amendments before enactment.
It would seem that the law is finally catching up will the millions of pet owners in recognising that there needs to be different considerations when dealing with an animal to that of a chair. These bills so far have not changed the position of the family court, but with the potential of dogs being classed separately to property in criminal law and that the sentience of animals is to be considered in future legislation, then it may be that change is afoot for the consideration of our dog, cat, rabbit or lobster(s) on separation and divorce.
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