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Wildlife and animal crime can be a complex area to understand.
To find out what wildlife crime is, go to our wildlife crime page.
Crimes involving animals that aren’t wildlife crimes, include:
Livestock worrying is a criminal offence and comes under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953.
‘Worrying’ is where a dog attacks or chases livestock causing injury or suffering.
This isn’t just a threat to a farmer or land owner’s livelihood, it’s also a dangerous situation for the animals involved, and could lead to more risk if the animals get onto the road.
A farmer is allowed to kill the dog if it’s worrying their livestock.
Always keep your dog under control around other animals and if you see a dog on the loose worrying animals, report it online.
Grazing animals can be an easy target especially in remote rural locations.
Remember, a horse passport is a legal requirement. You can find out how to apply for a horse passport.
Report livestock theft online.
Fox hunting is illegal; trail and drag hunting (where the hunt follows an artificial scent laid out in a trail) is legal. Dogs can be used legally as part of a trail or drag hunt.
There are exemptions under the Hunting Act 2004 which allow for wild animals (including foxes) to be ‘humanely’ killed. Dogs can be legally used to ‘flush’ a fox from cover so it can be shot.
It is an offence to:
If you think someone has broken the ban on fox hunting then that's a wildlife crime and you need to let us know by reporting it online.
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.
We work with the RSPCA to investigate cases of animal cruelty.
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:
A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if:
Please note, a farmer is allowed to kill your dog if it’s worrying their livestock.
If you see a dog loose, please report this online.
If the dog seems to be out of control, let us know by calling 101.
In the UK, it’s against the law to own certain types of dog. These are the:
It’s also against the law to:
Whether your dog is a banned type depends on what it looks like, rather than its breed or name.
You can find more information about banned dogs.
If you think someone has or is breeding banned dogs, please report it online.
Find more information and services covering animals and pets:
Before you report a dog theft to us, please make sure it hasn’t:
If you think your dog has been stolen you can:
Be ready to give us as much information as you can, including:
You should also: