Posts by Colin Butcher
What is a Pet Detective?
What is a Pet Detective? A Pet Detective is a professional investigator who specialises in the recovery of stolen and missing pets and the investigation of other crimes committed against animals and or their owners. In the United Kingdom a person can only use the title of Detective if they completed at least five years’ service as…
Read MoreWhat Is Cat Poaching?
The Pet Detective’s Definition Verb The act of deliberately enticing a cat owned by another person away from its home usually with the lure of food. Cat poaching is an aggressive form of Cat Seduction but unlike Cat Seduction the wrongdoer is intent of taking permanent possession of another person’s cat. A Cat Poacher is…
Read More‘Criminal gangs know they won’t go to prison’: The pet detective tracking stolen animals
“To be a pet detective you need to be a combination of animal lover, private detective and police officer,” says Colin Butcher. “But first and foremost, you’ve got to be a detective. You’ve got to be able to work it all out.” Butcher, 54, has been “working it out” on behalf of stricken animal lovers…
Read MoreDefinition of Dognapped?
Pet Detective’s Definition of DOGNAPPED VERB: DOGNAPPED is the unlawful abduction and or confinement of a dog for the purpose of inducing the owner or person having lawful control of the dog at the time it was taken to pay a ransom for the dog’s return. Dognapping is not recognised as a crime in the…
Read MoreWhat Is Cat Seduction?
What is Cat-Seduction? Pet Detectives Definition Cat Seduction Noun ‘The action of seducing a cat tempting or attracting a cat.’ ‘Purposefully enticing a cat which already has an owner away from its home usually with the lure of food.’ Cat seducers fall into two broad categories. Feeders and keepers. The Feeders usually notice a cat…
Read MoreAvoid This Big Mistake When Searching For a Missing Cat
Making Changes to Your Cat’s home Environment will Discourage it From Returning Home My personal experience in recovering missing cats has revealed that the biggest mistake you can make when a cat first goes missing is to start making changes to your cat’s home environment and territory. Especially if you do not even know for…
Read MoreMissing Cat? Pet Detective’s Top 5 Search Tips on What do First
Top Five # Tips on What to do When Your Cat First Goes Missing I have been recovering Missing Cats for over 30 years and in the last Five years, together with my amazing Cat Detection Dog Molly have helped to reunite over 275 Missing Cats with their families. Discovering that your cat is missing…
Read MoreWhat is The CELLMARK National Forensic Dog DNA Database?
Theft of a Working Cocker Spaniel Named Pip In 2020, I commenced an investigation into the theft of a little cocker spaniel called Pip. Stolen from a livery yard in Sussex. Over the next 12 months, I worked with the owner until eventually we had a breakthrough and Pip was located and recovered, but after…
Read MoreHow is Organized Crime Impacting on Dog Theft & Illegal Breeding?
In this article I will describe the growing influence of organized crime on dog theft, puppy smuggling and illegal breeding and address the question ‘where have all the stolen dogs gone?’ Dog Theft is an absolutely shocking crime, which was how the home secretary Pretti Patel described the offence before launching the Pet Theft Task…
Read MoreDog Theft: How Big is The Problem and How do You Prevent The Theft of Your Dog?
How Big is The Problem? There has been a great deal of speculation recently about the massive increase in the number of dogs stolen in 2021 with estimates ranging between 2,700 and 3,000 which is equivalent to ten dogs snatched every day. So, is dog theft really on the increase, should you be worried and…
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