Campaigners urge motorists to change their attitude when reporting cat hit and runs

  • Pet owners fear the change in law has put people off reporting incidents

A mother from Jersey says as a cat owner, knowing if your pet has been hit gives the family more peace of mind.

Emma O'Prey has lost two cats in the last six months, one was reported and one was not.

Having gone through both scenarios, she's urging people to get in touch with authorities as soon as they realise.

Emma lives in rural St Martin, so never expected to lose them Credit: ITV Channel

Emma explained: "If you get the news that they've been found and they've died you wonder, did they suffer?

"On the second occasion, the driver telephoned the JSPCA straight away, so before we even properly took a hold of the fact he hadn't come back, we got a phone call.

"Yes, it's awful, but it's a different type of awful, we knew straight away it was instant."

Emma and her family are no longer going to have cats, as they can't face the heartache again.

In 2021 politicians voted in favour of changing the law, which meant motorists had to inform either the owner of the cat, the JSPCA or the police if an accident happens. Failing to do so could mean up to a £10,000 fine.

Meanwhile no such law is in place in Guernsey.

Since the law was changed, the States of Jersey Police have had six incidents of motorists reporting hitting cats.

However figures released by the JSPCA are much higher, and they say more people are reporting it.

One campaigner, who was instrumental in changing the law, believes attitudes towards cat collisions still need to change.

Caroline Holmes said: "People take hitting a dog more seriously than hitting a cat, and that's very wrong."

Caroline lost one of her cats to a hit and run in 2018 Credit: ITV Channel

Caroline also wants to reassure people that they won't be prosecuted for picking up the phone.

She continued: "The criminal offence is hitting a cat and failing to report, so I urge everybody, if you hit a cat, don't be worried about reporting it, because you're doing the right thing. You're not a criminal in reporting, you are a criminal if you fail to report it"

The JSPCA urges anyone who finds an animal in distress to contact them on 01534 724331.

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