Roads: Accidents
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to introduce legislation to make it an offence to fail to report a road traffic incident in which a cat is struck and killed; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending existing legal requirements for reporting collisions involving certain animals to include cats.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood
There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats.
Although there is no obligation to report all animal deaths on roads, drivers should, if possible, make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals, such as cats, and advise them of the situation.
Since June 2024, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will make it easier for National Highways and local authorities to reunite cats with their keeper.
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