The fur is well and truly flying over one woman’s mission to force drivers to stop and call the vets if they run over a cat.
Under the 1988 Road Safety Act all UK motorists have a legal duty to tell the authorities if they hit a dog, cow, horse, sheep, pig or goat – but not a cat.
After mother-of-two Gemma Conway realised felines are left off the list, she decided to launch a campaign to get them included and make sure drivers stop when they hit one of the creatures and not just leave them to die by the roadside.
So far the 35-year-old’s petition has gathered over 177,000 signatures and could soon have the backing of her local MP Oliver Letwin.
Gemma Conway (pictured) is campaigning for a change in the law to get cats covered by the Road Safety Act 1988
Ms Conway, of Chickerell, Dorset, told the Dorset Echo she started the petition after her beloved cat Bertie went missing in April.
She said: ‘We had a black cat called Bertie who went missing in April.
‘I joined groups on Facebook for lost and found cats and put up posters, I received a lot of responses but none were Bertie.
‘It was then that I noticed that not only are they a lot of missing cats in the area, but there are so many that are left on the side of the road.
‘I then discovered that if a motorist hits a cat, they do not have to legally report it – unlike with dogs and other animals.
‘The driver can carry on driving as if nothing has happened – when did that become okay?’
The mother-of-two decided to launch her campaign after her beloved pet Bertie (pictured) went missing in April. She says she was shocked that legislation only requires drivers to tell the authorities if they hit a dog or farm animal – not a cat
But despite the ‘unbelievable’ support she has received, other cat lovers are not convinced a change in the law would be for the better.
Cat Matters, a campaign group that works to raise drivers’ awareness of cats on the road, is not convinced.
They believe including the pets in the 1988 legislation could create a new set of problems by restricting their freedom.
They told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘The act includes a clause which makes it a legal requirement for a person to report to the police if they have struck an animal while driving.
‘The act also makes it an offence to walk your dog along a road without a lead.
‘This is why including cats in the Road Traffic Act is not the solution’.
The animal campaigners added that they believe the right solution is to create a new piece of legislation that takes cats’ unique nature into account.
Tiya Ivy, the group’s spokesman, said: ‘While we support the idea that it should be illegal to hit a cat and leave the scene without helping, or at the very least, reporting the incident – we are against adding them to the Road Traffic Act.’
Meanwhile Ms Conway, who is currently on maternity leave, says she is astounded by the level of support the petition has received.
She told MailOnline she came up with the idea at around 3am soon after giving birth to her 10-week-old son.
She said: ‘It was 3am and I had not long given birth to my son and I just thought maybe I can do something to change this.
‘I was so shocked by the support and am really grateful.’
Unfortunately her cat 14-month-old Bertie is still nowhere to be found.
Ms Conway’s son James is pictured with Bertie their missing cat. He is still nowhere to be found
She added: ‘Lots of people have contacted us saying they’ve seen a black cat, but it’s never turned out to be him.
‘My son still says goodnight to him every night and looks for him out of the window.
‘I tell him he’s off on an adventure with the top cats and that he’s okay.
‘We would be absolutely devastated if he had been run over and someone had just driven off.
‘This is about having that closure and being able to draw a line under what happened.’
Reacting to Cat Matters’ scepticism over a change in the Road Safety Act, Ms Conway said: ‘This is not about keeping cats locked in their homes or on a lead.
‘It’s about common courtesy for cat owners.’
Ms Conway’s son James is pictured with Bertie, who was just 14-months when he went missing
She continued: ‘I only started the petition about three weeks ago and I can’t believe how well received it has been.
‘I didn’t expected this many signatures in this little amount of time.
‘But this petition shows that people do care and it is something that should be looked at more closely.
‘There are so many families who still don’t know what happened to their cat, just like us.
‘Bertie could be living a great life with another family, but he could have also have been hit by a car – we just don’t know.
‘But if a driver did hit a cat and legally had to report it, it would bring closure to the families and then they can move on.
‘A change in the law could make a huge difference to a lot of families.’
In 2015 The Daily Telegraph attempted to change the law with its own petition, but it only reached 12,000 signatures.
Ms Conway says she is meeting with MP for West Dorset Oliver Letwin in two weeks to discuss how best to present her petition to Parliament.