Pet theft and pet scams have been rife over the past year, attributed to the pandemic ‘pet boom’. In this episode, Blue Cross arms pet owners – new and old – on how to protect themselves and their four-legged friends against criminal activity.
Alongside Emma Barton and Blue Cross’ Head of Public Affairs, Becky Thwaites, this episode features best-selling author, James Bowen - who talks about his own experience of being scammed when looking to welcome a new puppy into his home.
Becky, who campaigns for better animal welfare legislation across the UK, speaks about why she thinks there has been an increase in pet thefts and scams: “Unfortunately, with the coronavirus pandemic it has led to a massive increase in people wanting to get a new pet for their lives, but that goes hand-in-hand with a massive increase in prices and demand.
“And then you've got just more of the criminal element to the trade, so, we’re seeing things like pet theft, scams and a legally bread puppies coming into the country, so unfortunately, there's just a lot of bad guys out there trying to take advantage of people that just want a lovely new pet for their life.”