Road Traffic Collision Reporting: Cats

Shockat Adam Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I thank the Petitions Committee and the 189,192 people who signed the petition, especially on behalf of my two lovely cats, Levi and Lola. They are especially indebted because their mum does not let them out—they want to, but it is not safe enough.

The list of animals in section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 was not drawn up in that year; it was lifted almost word for word from the Road Traffic Act 1930. As the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) said, that is probably why cats, llamas and alpacas are not mentioned in it. We are told that the list covers working animals, although perhaps not those owned by the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade). Dogs were included in 1930, even though most were already companions at that stage, because no driver could tell a sheepdog from a family pet. Today, a driver must report hitting a terrier or a puppy no bigger than a kitten but not a cat of exactly the same size. On working status, CatsMatter estimates that there are around 60,000 working farm cats in England, against roughly 65,000 working sheepdogs, so that distinction does not survive scrutiny any more.

Cats are not livestock or vermin—for millions of households, they are family. The cruellest part of losing a cat on the road is often not knowing and that phone call never coming. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has said plainly that reporting and scanning give owners the closure that they deserve, and I agree.

In ancient Egypt, where cats were given sacred status, Diodorus Siculus reported that killing one cat, even by accident, would cost someone their life. I want to be clear that that is not what CatsMatter or any other organisation is asking for, because this is not about punishing motorists. I am certain that most drivers who hit a cat are shocked and upset. They want to do the right thing, but the problem is that they do not know what to do. They will be standing on the side of the road, searching their phone and wondering who to call, while the cat passes away. Is it the police or the council? We must have a clear pathway.

The Government argue that drivers may not know that they have hit a cat, but the court settled in Harding v. Price that the duty applies only when a driver knows or ought reasonably to have known. A Hungarian study has found that drivers were uncertain in only 2.3% of pet collisions. A duty to stop and report, paired with one clear, well publicised route to help, would give decent drivers the confidence to act. There is no need for that to be expensive. Parliament routinely passes short enabling clauses. A single amendment to a suitable Government Bill could give the Secretary of State power to add cats—and alpacas and llamas—to the list. Better co-ordination can be built with the 69 animal welfare organisations that have backed this change, with the veterinary profession and with commercial partners, at the least cost to the public purse.

Finally, the Government have made microchipping compulsory. That was the right thing to do, but a chip helps only if someone scans it. Reporting completes the system that the Government have already built and gives every owner one more reason to chip their cat and keep their details up to date. Hong Kong, Switzerland, Gibraltar and Jersey already require that. The UK is becoming an outlier. Around three quarters of cats survive the initial impact, so we could save many more. Will the Government commit to bringing forward an enabling power and to working with the sector on a single route to help? The assumptions of 1930 deserve re-examination in 2026. Nearly 190,000 people have asked us to look again. I hope the Minister will.