<p>Pet theft and pet scams have been rife over the past year, attributed to the pandemic ‘pet boom’. In this episode, Blue Cross arms pet owners – new and old – on how to protect themselves and their four-legged friends against criminal activity.</p><br><p>Alongside Emma Barton and Blue Cross’ Head of Public Affairs, Becky Thwaites, this episode features best-selling author, James Bowen - who talks about his own experience of being scammed when looking to welcome a new puppy into his home.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Becky, who campaigns for better animal welfare legislation across the UK, speaks about why she thinks there has been an increase in pet thefts and scams: “<em>Unfortunately, with the coronavirus pandemic it has led to a massive increase in people wanting to get a new pet for their lives, but that goes hand-in-hand with a massive increase in prices and demand.&nbsp;</em></p><br><p><em>“And then you've got just more of the criminal element to the trade, so, we’re seeing things like pet theft, scams and a legally bread puppies coming into the country, so unfortunately, there's just a lot of&nbsp; bad guys out there trying to take advantage of people that just want a lovely new pet for their life.”</em></p><br><p><br></p><p><br></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>