Dog theft has risen alarmingly during the latest lockdown due to rising prices as some puppies can warrant anything from £500 upwards to £2,000.

Houses have been broken into and family pets have been stolen. Sometimes even full litters of very young puppies, many far too young to be separated from their mother, have also gone missing. Dog walkers have even had their dog snatched from them.

Our dogs are currently treated as property by the law according to the Theft Act of 1968. This in turn means that long sentences for the thieves who steal them are virtually non existent.

A proposed amendment to the Policing Bill would make stealing them a crime in its own right. Labour Justice spokesman David Lammy says he is behind the push and Home Secretary Priti Patel says the Government may support the move.

My argument is that our dogs are not property to us; they are much-loved members of the family and should therefore be treated as such.

The current act sets out a maximum jail term of up to seven years but according to the Kennel Club fewer than five per cent of pet thefts reach the conviction stage.

The current laws are failing to put off organised crooks from stealing pets for profit.

It is about time the Government started to treat this growing problem with the seriousness that it deserves.

Mrs L M Jackson