Animal crime
Some animal crime can be reported online
Dogs out of control in public places
It’s an offence to let a dog be dangerously out of control whether that’s in public or private.
A dog is considered to be out of control if it:
- injures someone
- makes someone worried that it might injure them
A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if:
- it attacks someone’s animal
- the owner of an animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal
If you see a dog loose, please report a lost dog online.
If the dog seems to be out of control, let us know by calling 101.
Banned dogs
In the UK, it’s against the law to own certain types of dog. These are the:
- Pit Bull Terrier
- Japanese Tosa
- Dogo Argentino
- Fila Brasileiro
- XL Bully
It’s also against the law to:
- sell a banned dog
- abandon a banned dog
- give away a banned dog
- breed from a banned dog
If you have information, you can report owning or breeding banned dogs online.
Dog theft
Before you report a dog theft to us, please make sure it hasn’t:
- escaped and run away
- been taken for a walk by someone else
If you think your dog has been stolen you can:
Animal cruelty
Animal cruelty is when someone doesn’t care for or deliberately hurts an animal.
It can include anything from physical violence, to deliberate mental distress or neglect, for example not feeding or cleaning an animal.
If you see, or suspect, that a person may be treating an animal badly, whether this is physical violence, neglect or any other form of cruelty, you should report this to the RSPCA.
Livestock theft
Grazing animals can be an easy target especially in remote rural locations. You can report livestock theft online.