Pet theft 1245/2025
FOI Reference: 1245/2025
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following information for the period 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2025 (or the latest available date) for your police force area:
- Total number of reported pet theft incidents (all species) broken down by year
- Total number of Number of stolen pets (all species) recovered and returned to owners reported dog theft incidents broken down by year -
- Number of stolen dogs recovered and returned to owners
Clarification received:-
Incidents vs crimes
I am seeking data on recorded crimes, not incidents. Please exclude non-crime incidents and calls for service that did not meet the crime recording threshold.
Meaning of “reported”
By “reported”, I mean crimes recorded by Dyfed-Powys Police in accordance with the Home Office Counting Rules. I am not seeking raw 999/101 call data.
Definition of “pets”
For the purposes of this request, “pets” refers to domesticated companion animals generally kept in a household, for example:
Dogs
Cats
Small mammals (e.g. rabbits, guinea pigs)
Birds kept as pets
Please exclude livestock, farm animals, horses, and wildlife.
The specific breakdown requested remains:
Total number of recorded pet theft crimes (all included species) by year
Total number of recorded dog theft crimes by year
Number of stolen pets recovered and returned to owners
Number of stolen dogs recovered and returned to owners
For the period 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2025 (or latest available).
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below:-
Response Q1
|
Pet/Year |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Dog |
28 |
15 |
18 |
14 |
18 |
|
Cat |
2 |
4 |
6 |
14 |
4 |
|
Rabbit |
1 |
1 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Response Q2
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
|
Pet/Year |
Volume (Returned) |
Volume (Returned) |
Volume (Returned) |
Volume (Returned) |
Volume (Returned) |
|
Dog |
28 (12) |
15 (6) |
18 (9) |
14 (6) |
18 (6) |
|
Cat |
2 (2) |
4 (2) |
6 (2) |
14 (8) |
4 (2) |
|
Rabbit |
1 (1) |
1 (0) |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Please note:
2 dog theft investigations still ongoing in 2025
The above is the current picture at the time the investigations were closed.
Response Q3
As Response Q2
Please note:
The system was searched for the below pets:
Dog
Cat
Rabbit
Guinea Pig
Hamster
Chinchilla
Rat
Mouse
Bird (Budgie/ Parakeet)
It should be noted that Police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide crime statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the crime data. It should be noted that for these reasons this force's response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.
(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 10/02/2026)
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