Pet Owners Warned To Take 'Duty Of Care' Seriously

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, (RSPCA) has successfully prosecuted a woman who did not make provision to feed her cat for two days back in June 2007. Ex-pet owner Kelly Robinson of Welwyn Garden City found herself in court charged under the 'Duty of Care' concept introduced by the new Animal Welfare Act which had come into force in England only two months earlier - on 6 April 2007.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, (Defra) warns that a 'Duty of care' is a legal phrase which means that someone has an obligation to do something.

Prior to the new Act, pet owners only had a duty to ensure that an animal didn't suffer unnecessarily. The new Act now imposes a broader duty on pet owners to take reasonable steps to ensure that their pets' needs are met. This includes the provision of a suitable diet - as Ms. Robinson, prosecuted by the RSPCA, found out to her cost at Central Hertfordshire Magistrates' Court earlier this week.

The court concluded that the cat's needs had not been met because food had not been provided on a daily basis. Local news reports that after pleading guilty to failing to meet the welfare needs of her cat, Ms. Robinson was fined £50, ordered to pay £185 costs and banned from keeping animals for two years