Petition to punish drivers who run down beloved cats and flee hits huge milestone

Petition to punish drivers who run down beloved cats and flee hits huge milestoneThe drive was launched by the group Cats Matter after the heartbreaking death of Henry, a much-loved cat struck by a vehicle and left dying alone on the roadside in April 2017. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Ciaran McGrath, Senior News Reporter 07:17, Sat, Jun 6, 2026 The petition was inspired by much-loved moggy Henry (Image: Cats Matter)A determined campaign by grieving cat owners is surging towards forcing a parliamentary debate on new laws that would make it illegal for drivers to hit a cat and simply drive away. With just two weeks until its deadline, the petition “Legislate to require drivers to report collisions with cats” has already gathered more than 60,500 signatures and is accelerating fast. If it hits 100,000 by June 17, MPs will be forced to consider the issue in Parliament. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) The drive was launched by the group Cats Matter after the heartbreaking death of Henry, a much-loved cat struck by a vehicle and left dying alone on the roadside in April 2017. Co-founders Mandy and Tiya, alongside campaigner Carlie Power, say the trauma of discovering their pets abandoned in pain has fuelled a national movement. The campaigners say: “Accidents will sadly always happen. What we cannot accept is drivers who drive off and leave cats scared, alone, in pain, or worse, roadside. Not stopping to help a cat is unforgivable.” Ar...