More dogs stolen in North West than any other part of UK, data shows
The shocking findings have led to The Kennel Club launching a new campaign to improve stats surrounding dog thefts and ensure culprits are brought to justice.
The North West of England has become the worst place for dog thefts in the whole country, new data has revealed.
As many as 335 pooches were stolen from this region during the course of 2020 according to The Kennel Club – accounting for 14% of all thefts nationwide.
The leading dog organisation also found there were 2,355 instances of dognapping in 2020 overall – up 7% from 2019.
Figures revealed that police solved just 2% of these crimes.
In the case of North West dog thefts, no suspect was identified in more than a quarter of those cases and no one was charged with any crimes.
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The Kennel Club is now mounting a new campaign, titled “Paw and Order: Dog Theft Reform”, to improve these stats – calling for a centralised database containing information on dog thefts that can be shared by various police forces.
The campaign also asks for the emotional value of dogs to be recognised in sentencing – with legislative guidelines currently only taking into account the monetary value of animals.
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Bill Lambert, health, welfare and breeder services executive, The Kennel Club, said: “Dog theft has devastating consequences for both the owners and the pets involved and it is quite frankly jaw dropping that 98 per cent of cases never result in a criminal charge, and in more than half no suspect is ever identified.
“Not only that, but when a suspect is found and sentenced, dog theft is often treated no more seriously than a petty crime, despite the fact that there is nothing ‘petty’ about pet theft.”
A law change came into effect last month increasing the maximum sentence for the worst animal cruelty offences from six months to five years in England and Wales.
Under the new Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, offenders in England and Wales can receive longer prison sentences and also receive an unlimited fine.
Manchester
Cirque du Soleil Manchester – everything you need to know about the legendary group’s ‘OVO’ show
Danny Jones
The legendary performance group Cirque du Soleil return to Manchester this Wednesday for a five-night run leading into the Easter bank holiday weekend.
Set to stun crowds with their latest show simply entitled, OVO, the Canadian-based but world-renowned entertainment company will be hosting tens of thousands at the AO Arena from 27-31 March and having been to their previous dates here, we can certainly vouch for it being a truly spellbinding spectacle.
Unbelievably, it’s been half a decade since Cirque du Soleil rolled into Manchester with their incredible TORUK: First Flight show (based all around James Cameron’s Avatar universe), so audiences have an entirely new production to tend with this time around.
With that in mind, if you’re going along to any of the five shows at the AO Arena this month or are still debating grabbing a seat, here’s everything you need to know about Cirque du Soleil OVO in Manchester this March.
What is Cirque du Soleil OVO about?
Simply meaning ‘egg’ in Portuguese and straight from the press room, OVO promises to be “a headlong rush into a colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.”
Revolving around the key insect characters, their home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion.
When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, they’re left awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. From then on, another quirky insect arrives in this community and a fabulous ladybug starts catching eyes – and we daren’t spoil anything more.
OVO is overflowing with high-colour contrasts as the hidden, secret world at the human race’s feet is revealed as tender and torrid; noisy and quiet, as well as peaceful and chaotic. It promises to be quite the whirlwind show and has received rave reviews since its inception.
If that all sounds good on paper but if you want a clearer glimpse at what that looks like on stage, you can see exactly what to expect down below:
Are there tickets left for Cirque du Soleil in Manchester?
Short answer: yes. Plenty, in fact — well, depending, on what night you’re hoping to go along for.
The cheapest tickets start from £53.50 and that’s sitting within the first tier of seats around the arena. However, if you do fancy going along and making a bit more of an occasion of things for a change, you can always treat yourself to a bit more of the pageantry with one of their VIP packages.
It’s not something we do very often but, we must admit, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it whenever we have. Whatever tier you fancy, you can grab yours HERE.
Better still, you’ve now got the perfect place for food and drink beforehand with the brand-new Mezz restaurant and bar which really is the ideal pre-show venue.
What time does it start and how long does it last?
Doors to the event open from 6pm from Wednesday to Friday, as well as on 30 March, but the Saturday schedule also has a matinee showing from 2:30pm.
Sunday’s showing starts just after noon (12:30pm) and all of the performances are set to start around an hour later – i.e. 7:30pm for the evening shows – so you’ve got plenty of time to get your snacks in and nip to loo etc.
As always with the AO, the definitive curfew for shows is 11pm but even with the 100-minute run-time and 25-minute interval, you’ll be finished well before then.
How to get to the AO Arena and other travel info
The AO Arena is right in the heart of the city centre, so it’s fairly easy to get to.
On foot:
The AO Arena is located within the Manchester Victoria Station complex in the city centre, on the corner of Trinity Way, Hunts Bank and Great Ducie Street. You can enter through the station (up the stairs), through the Trinity Way Tunnel, or from Hunts Bank.
By tram: Also super straight-forward – hop off the tram at Manchester Victoria and you’re right by the stairs to the venue. It’s also a short walk from Exchange Square and Shudehill. Trams run directly to Victoria Station from Rochdale, Bury, Altrincham, East Didsbury and the Airport.
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By train: While Piccadilly is the city’s largest train station, plenty of trains do pass through Manchester Victoria. You can plan your journey through the National Rail website.
Parking: The postcode if you’re driving to the AO Arena is M3 1AR. There’s an on-site CitiPark car park with 958 spaces, which can be pre-booked here. Bear in mind that Trinity Way is closed after concerts to allow gig-goers to leave safely, though cars are allowed out of the car park with directions from staff.
Double Zero opens beautiful first pizzeria in Manchester city centre
Daisy Jackson
Our prayers have been answered – Double Zero is officially ready to open its very first pizzeria in Manchester city centre.
Arguably the best pizzas in the entire region (and they have some stiff competition) are now available right in the heart of the city.
Double Zero has taken over a unit on Spring Gardens that was previously home to Lattsam.
The pizzeria is beautiful – sunny yellow and white tiles, retro Campari posters everywhere, simple wooden furniture, lots of plants, and (the star of the show) a huge tiled pizza oven.
With this new 80-cover site, they also have space for a bar area, a new feature for the venue.
Over in their original site in Chorlton, which opened almost a decade a go, the business has always operated a BYO policy.
But now diners will be able to order delicious cocktails like classic spritzes, negronis, espresso martinis, and Italian wines.
It goes alongside their huge menu of signature Neapolitan pizzas, with toppings like a truffle mushroom cream base with Italian ham and artichoke; a Miele Sizzler loaded with hot honey, ‘nduja, pepperoni, and chorizo; and the Partenopea, featuring a whole burrata as well as heirloom tomatoes and parma ham.
Double Zero is ready to open its first pizzeria in Manchester city centre
Double Zero ferments their dough for at least 48 hours, before hand-stretching the pizza bases and blasting them in the wood-fired oven for just 90 seconds.
The result is a perfectly floppy base with plump, chewy crusts, ready to be doused in their legendary homemade chilli oil (go steady, it’s spicy).
Double Zero will officially open its doors on Spring Gardens tomorrow, Thursday 28 March.