Closed petition Pets are "sentient beings" not property.

Closed on 30 March 2015

Pets are legally considered to be property in England so that owners can press charges or claim compensation if they are stolen. However the current legal standard of animal welfare does not and cannot establish fights for animals. As long as they are viewed as property, animals will be subject to suffering for the social and economic benefit of human beings. We want parliament to recognise “an obvious fact: animals are beings endowed with feelings”. This should make it easier to prosecute cases of animal cruelty and help courts to decide who gets custody of cats or dogs when couples divorce, and the feelings of the animal are taken into consideration.