FOI 0957-2025/26- Pet theft

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:

Q1. Total number of reported pet theft incidents (all species) broken down by year

Q2. Total number of reported dog theft incidents broken down by year

Q3. Number of stolen pets (all species) recovered and returned to owners

Q4. Number of stolen dogs recovered and returned to owner

Response:

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 animal theft incidents recorded between 01 January 2021 and 31 December 2025, broken down by calendar year.

 *Please note the above relates to animals in general, to establish if they were a pet would require a manual review and would trigger an excess cost response.

Q2. Please see the table below showing the number of reported dog theft incidents recorded between 01 January 2021 and 31 December 2025, broken down by calendar year.

Q3. Please see the table below showing the number of animal theft incidents recorded between 01 January 2021 and 31 December 2025, broken down by classification description.

Q4. Please see the table below showing the number of reported dog theft incidents recorded between 01 January 2021 and 31 December 2025, broken down by classification description.

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.