Pet charities are dismayed that the Government has “no plans” to change the law to require drivers who hit a cat to report the death.
Campaigners have long called for motorists to face the same requirement to file a report after running over a cat as they do if they hit any of a host of animals.
It is a legal requirement to report driving into dogs, horses, cattle, pigs, goats, sheep donkeys or mules.
But when Tory MP Gregory Stafford asked if the Government will “require drivers to report cat killings”, transport minister Lillian Greenwood said there are “no plans” to “make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats”.
Mandy Hobbis of CatsMater said: “We are extremely disappointed in the Government’s response to dismiss cats as animals that deserve help when hit by a car on the road. By refusing to consider the issue they are effectively saying they feel the current laws surrounding cats being hit by cars in the road are perfectly okay.”
Ms Hobbis started campaigning after her cat, Snowy, was “left for dead” on the road and “sent to landfill without being scanned for a microchip”.
“Cats are considered family by their owners and they simply want to know the Government considers them a species that deserve help should they find themselves alone, in pain, scared and suffering roadside,” she said.
An RSPCA spokeswoman supported a chance in the law that would “mean drivers would legally have to stop and report the incident to police”.
She said; “Since 2016, the Highways Agency agreed to scan dogs found dead on roads for microchips and we would like to see the same protection for pet cats as we understand how heartbreaking it is for people to lose a much-loved pet and how important it is for them to find out what has happened to them.”
Ben Parker of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, said the “curious oversight” in the law could be “easily addressed by the Government”.
“Losing a pet in any circumstances is tragic but never knowing how and why can make it even more distressing for pet owners,” he said.
Conservative MP Mr Stafford pledged to press the minister to see if such an obligation could be incorporated into the Road Safety Act.
Madison Rogers of Cats Protection said: “We’d urge anyone who injures a cat while driving to take it to a vet for emergency treatment or report it to their local authority cleansing department if it’s a fatality. We’d also encourage local councils to scan any cats they collect so their owners can be informed, as it’s heartbreaking for owners to not know the fate of a lost or missing cat.”
Transport minister Ms Greenwood said the Highway Code advises drivers to report any collisions involving an animal to the police – and they should try to inform the owners of “domestic animals” what has happened.
She said: “Since June this year, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will increase the likelihood that cats can be reunited with their owners.”
