コロナ禍の英国、癒やし需要に付け込む「犬泥棒」激増

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】新型コロナウイルス流行下の英国で、ペット犬の盗難被害が爆発的に増加している。感染対策のロックダウン（都市封鎖）がたびたび実施される中で、ペット需要が一気に高まったことが背景にある。（写真は英首都ロンドン南東部のグリニッジ・パークで、飼い犬と遊ぶ女性）
　ウェールズ南部ポートタルボット近郊の閑静な村に住むサラさん（３５）は昨年１２月、自宅の納屋で飼っていた犬６匹を盗まれた。一家が寝静まった夜中に、忍び込んだ何者かが連れ去ったのだ。
　「犬たちのことが本当に、とてもとても心配で。自分を責めてしまって、日常生活もままならない」とサラさんはＡＦＰに語った。
　６匹のうち、イングリッシュスプリンガースパニエルの雌１匹は先日たまたま保護され、獣医師がマイクロチップの情報を調べてサラさんの元に帰してくれた。だが、残る５匹は行方不明のままだ。帰ってきた１匹も、犯人がマイクロチップを取り出そうとして失敗したため、ひどいけがをしていた。
　■需要の高騰
　「新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ-１９）と同じくらい、拡大している」。迷子犬の保護・捜索情報データベースを提供する団体「ドッグロスト」のウェイン・メイ氏はこう述べ、「活動を始めて３０年になるが、２０２０年は過去最悪の年だった」と振り返った。昨年３月以降、犬の盗難件数は推計２５０％増加したという。
　もともと英国民の犬好きは有名だが、コロナ禍の孤独と不安を癒やしてくれるペットを求める人が激増。販売・譲渡市場では、子犬はもちろん成犬の価格も２倍以上に跳ね上がった。この状況が、貪欲なブリーダー（繁殖業者）のみならず犯罪者をも引き付けている。
　人気犬種のスパニエルやブルドッグ、パグ、プードル系ミックスなどの価格は現在、１匹４０００ポンド（約５７万円）以上することもある。
　メイ氏は、「ギャング組織や窃盗グループが飼い犬を盗み、繁殖に利用したり、身代金や保護の謝礼金を要求したりする事例が増えている」と指摘。英国では犬の窃盗は、罰金２００～２５０ポンド（約２万９０００～３万６０００円）の軽犯罪にすぎない。「罰則が軽いため、今や飼い犬の窃盗は麻薬の売人になるよりもうかる」と述べ、こうした犯罪の抑止には、罰則強化しかないとの見方を示した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/02/09-14:51）

When six of Sarah's dogs were stolen in late December, she was left reeling. But she was not alone, as increasing numbers of pet owners have experienced similar losses across Britain.
I can't name one feeling because there was too many -- I was basically shocked, upset, frightened because of how this happened, the 35-year-old, who declined to give her surname, told AFP.
(I was) obviously really, really, really worried for the dogs and it's hard to go on with daily life because you feel guilty.
The dogs disappeared after thieves broke into the outhouse where they slept overnight at the family's property in a quiet village near the town of Port Talbot in south Wales.
Five remain missing but a female English springer spaniel stolen was recently found by a passerby, and a vet was able to trace her back to Sarah.
She had a nasty wound where the perpetrators had unsuccessfully tried to remove her microchip.
Seeing the injuries that my spaniel has got, (I'm) even more worried for the dogs now, said Sarah.
- 'Huge demand' -
Britain has seen an explosion in the number of dog thefts since the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns started early last year, as demand for pets has surged.
It's just as growing a pandemic as Covid itself, said Wayne May, from DogLost, an organisation that tries to reunite missing canines with their owners using its online database.
I've been doing this for 30 years now and 2020 was the worst ever year, he added, noting there had been an estimated 250 percent rise in dog thefts since last March.
Already known as a nation of dog lovers, a burgeoning number of Britons have been looking for four-legged companions during the virus lockdowns to help overcome loneliness and anxiety.
Prices for puppies in particular but also older dogs have skyrocketed, attracting greedy breeders -- and the interest of criminals.
Figures from Pets4Homes, an online marketplace for sales and adoptions, showed the average price asked in around 150,000 listings from March to September was ??1,883 ($2,575, 2,149 euros).
The average price during the same period the previous year was less than half that, at ??888.
Some puppies of popular breeds, such as spaniels, bulldogs, pugs and poodle crossbreeds, can be listed for more than ??4,000.
Meanwhile, adoptions have also risen.
The pets section of the website of the animal welfare charity the RSPCA attracted 40 million views in the final nine months of 2020 -- an increase of 13 million compared to 2019.
Because there's been such a huge demand for puppies especially, we've seen people start to try and meet this demand by acting illegally and illicitly, said Sam Gaines, head of companion animals at the RSPCA.
- 'Lucrative' -
He added that the extra demand had led to a rise in puppies being brought in from abroad.
We do have huge concerns about how puppies are bred and reared from outside of the UK, and the really long journeys that they need to endure to actually get to this country, Gaines told AFP.
Organised criminal groups are now taking a growing interest in this area, alongside less coordinated thieves long active in more opportunistic dog stealing, according to DogLost's May.
Prior to the pandemic... it was opportunity theft, a very very small percentage was criminal gangs or specifically targeted thefts, he explained.
That all changed last year... we're now getting organised gangs and groups, stealing your dogs to breed from or to look for a reward or a ransom.
May believes only tougher sanctions can discourage the growing number of thieves.
It's more lucrative now to be a dog thief in the United Kingdom than to be a drug dealer, because the punishment doesn't fit the crime, he added, noting punishment for stealing a dog is a paltry ??200-250 fine.
The criminal gangs are willing to take that risk for such a paltry sum.