FOI 0009-2025/26 Theft of Animals

Request
I understand that the Pet Abduction Act 2024 came into force on 24 August 2024. For data from this date onwards, please include offences recorded under the specific categories of "dog abduction" and "cat abduction." For data prior to this date, please include all relevant offences where the stolen item was recorded as one of the listed animals, regardless of the overarching crime category (e.g., theft, burglary, robbery). 

Q1. Number of reported thefts of animals (from the list below):

Please provide the number of reported thefts involving animals for each of the following calendar years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. 

Please break this down, where available, by: 

- Postcode district for each year (e.g., LS1, M20)

- Month (i.e., monthly totals) for each year 

Q2. Species-specific theft data (if held): 

If possible, I would also like the number of thefts involving the following species, again split by calendar year (2019–2024): 

Animals:

- Bird

- Cat

- Chicken

- Cow

- Dog

- Fish

- Gecko

- Gerbil

- Goat

- Guinea Pig

- Hamster

- Horse

- Lamb

- Lizard

- Mouse

- Pig

- Pony

- Rabbit

- Sheep

- Snake

- Spider

Q3. Dog and cat breed-specific theft data (if held):

If possible, I would also like the number of thefts involving the following dog and cat breeds, again split by calendar year (2019–2024):

Dog breeds:

- Akita

- Beagle

- Bichon Frise

- Border Collie

- Chihuahua

- Dachshund

- Dalmatian

- Doberman

- French Bulldog

- German Shepherd

- Great Dane

- Husky

- Jack Russell

- Labrador

- Maltese

- Mastiff

- Pitbull

- Pomeranian

- Poodle

- Pug

- Retriever

- Rottweiler

- Samoyed

- Shiba Inu

- Shih Tzu

- Spaniel

- Springer

- Staffordshire Bull Terrier

- Terrier

- Whippet

Cat breeds:

- Bengal

- British Shorthair

- Burmese

- Long Haired

- Maine Coon

- Persian

- Ragdoll

- Russian Blue

- Scottish Fold

- Siamese

- Sphynx

- Domestic Shorthair (including Tuxedo, Ginger, Tabby, and Tortoiseshell)

Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information
To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police.

I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police.  

Decision
I have today decided to disclose the following information to you.

Q1. Please see the table below showing the number of thefts of animals in the period 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2024, broken down by calendar year and Safer Neighbourhood Command (SNC) area. I am exempting the monthly breakdown and postcode of the thefts pursuant to Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) to refrain from particular incidents becoming identifiable and consequently the personal details of any persons involved being disclosed. Please see the below exemption explanation.

SNC	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	Total
Craven SNC	8	10	6	10	2	5	41
Hambleton & Richmondshire SNC	9	38	11	7	8	12	85
Harrogate SNC	8	8	7	5	7		35
Scarborough & Ryedale SNC	23	18	9	7	8	19	84
Selby SNC	3	2	6	1	2	1	15
York SNC	9	3	5	3	5	2	27
Not recorded	-	-	-	1	-	1	2
Total	60	79	44	34	32	40	289

Q2. Please see the below table showing the number of thefts of animals in the period 1 January 2019 to 31 January 2024, broken down by calendar year and animal type.

Animal Type	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	Total
Cat	2	1	4	2	3	3	15
Dog	9	14	10	9	13	8	63
Fish	6	1	8	4	1	1	21
Other animal	13	6	1	-	4	-	24
Pig	-	1	-	1	-	3	5
Sheep	30	56	21	18	11	25	161
Total	60	79	44	34	32	40	289

Q3. Breed of animal is not mandatorily recorded, however, where this has been recorded I have provided the data below.

Breed of Animal	Total
BLACK ADA	1
DALES	1
GORDON SETTER	1
HUSKY	1
NORTH ENGLAND MULE GIMMER	1
STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER	1
SUFFOLK CROSS	1
SUFFOLK OR TEXAN	1
SWALEDALE	1
TEXEL	1
Total	10

Exemption Explanation

Section 17 of the Act requires North Yorkshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies. 

Section 40(2) – Personal information
Where an individual can be identified by such data, releasing it would clearly breach the first data protection principle of being ‘fair’ to the data subject.

Section 40(2) is an absolute class based exemption, which does not require a public interest test, but requires the balancing of the legitimate interests of the public against the interests of the individual under the first Data Protection Principle; in that processing of personal data must be lawful and fair (DPA 2018 35(1), EUGDPR Article 5(1)).

This exemption applies because the right given under the FOI Act to request official information held by public authorities does not apply to the personal data of third parties where disclosure of that information would not be fair to the individual, and where there is no legitimate public interest in disclosure.

In all the circumstances of the case it has been determined that the duty to the individual under the Data Protection Act 2018 & EU General Data Protection Regulations, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure of personal information held by the force in such instances, outweighs the public interest in disclosure.  In this instance, personal information can only be disclosed to the individual concerned. 

Releasing personal details to a person other than the data subject would not only breach the data subject’s Data Protection rights it may also breach the obligations placed on an authority under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a refusal notice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your request.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.