MORE than 2,000 signatures have been collected on a petition in the Forest calling for tougher sentences for dog thieves.

The petition has been started by Forest district councillor Richard Leppington (UKIP, Bream) and animal lover Averil Sumner who lives in the village.

The district council last week backed a motion by Cllr Leppington calling on Forest MP Mark Harper to lobby the government on the issue.

A call for the council to extend the call to include all pets was rejected.

Cllr Leppington said: “Nearly 1,800 dogs were stolen in the UK and that equates to about five every single day.

“The actual number is higher as many owners do not report the thefts to the police.

“While dog theft is lucrative it is almost risk free – although a dog may be an adored member of the family the theft of a dog is viewed as the theft of property.

“Punishment starts at conditional discharge, fine of about £100 or 20 hours’ community service.

“If the criminal justice system allows people

to walk away with light penalties the problem will continue to grow.

“A deterrent is clearly needed and that is why I am campaigning for dog theft to be classified as a stand-alone offence with tougher sentencing guide-

lines.”

“It is a chance to send out a message from the Forest of Dean that dogs matter and this will not be tolerated.”

Cllr Leppington said the number of dog thefts had increased since sentences for metal theft had been stiffened.

He said: “Thefts started to go through the roof after a change in scrap metal laws in 2013 which meant anyone buying or selling stolen metal faced a £5,000 fine.

“It may seem a rather strange correlation but as this law came into force dog napping numbers rocketed so it seems clear that organised crime gangs moved from metal into dogs.”

Cllr Len Lawton (Con, Newent Central) proposed an amendment which would urge the government to increase penalties for all pet thefts.

He said: “ I am supportive of the notion that dogs are important but all domestic pets are important for their families.”