A parliamentary petition has been started by a social media campaigner and social advocate to introduce an automatic, lifetime ban on animal ownership for anyone with convictions of animal abuse or neglect.
If successful, a public register would also be created so that vets, breeders, and charities could prevent repeat offenders from purchasing and adopting animals.
It was created by Bea Elton who runs social media accounts with around 5m followers (@cleanwithbeax) where she shows the process of deep cleaning people’s houses for free.
What started out as videos of Elton cleaning her London flat turned into intensive cleaning jobs transforming homes for vulnerable people.
She was recently named in The Times & The Sunday Times Young Power List 2026 of the 30 most inspiring people under 30 in the UK for her role as a campaigner and social advocate.
Elton said: “Since I started the Free Deep Clean programme, I have read a huge number of applications and seen first-hand some highly distressing scenes where animals are left to survive in terrible conditions by those who struggle to care for themselves, let alone animals.
“That being said, it is my experience that these people are very able and willing to learn how to better look after their pets, especially once they’ve received the help they personally need.
“My intention is to prevent known abusers, with a proven history of inflicting suffering on animals, from having access to them in the first place.”
The petition currently has nearly 200,000 signatures and has been waiting over a month for a debate date in Parliament.
Petitions must call for a specific action from the UK Government or the House of Commons to meet the standards and be published for the public to sign.
Petitions with more than 10,000 signatures receive a response from the Government, and those with over 100,000 signatures are considered by Parliament.
But laws around animal welfare are not straightforward to implement.
David Bowles, Head of Public Affairs at the RSPCA, said: “Sadly, despite the animal welfare laws the RSPCA helped to put into place, cruelty to animals still goes on, and our Inspectors and rescuers see firsthand the reality of this on a daily basis.
“Establishing an animal abuse register is a really emotive issue. Details of convictions and disqualification orders under the Animal Welfare Act are stored on the Police National Computer (PNC), but this is not open to non-police personnel to see for data protection purposes, and to avoid vigilante action.
“The current framework poses a significant challenge: even though courts can disqualify individuals from animal ownership, there is currently no central system for animal rescue centres, charities or private individuals, including animal breeders, pet shops, or animal care companies, to check whether someone is banned from keeping animals before selling or rehoming an animal, or employing someone to care for animals.
“Gaps also extend to local authorities who grant licenses to animal businesses. While legislation already states that people convicted of animal cruelty are ineligible to run animal businesses such as pet shops – knowledge to enforce these rules is key.
“We must find a system that helps everyone ensure that disqualified abusers cannot bypass the law and own, get access to or work with animals – whilst respecting that information is only provided appropriately to selected enforcers, to prevent vigilante and other anti-social actions.
“Individuals banned from keeping animals by courts are often publicised in the media – and the current legal framework highlights why it is important that anyone suspecting an individual to be breaching or evading any imposed bans should report this to the Police or other relevant authorities.”
Elton’s petition shows that whilst laws are difficult to implement, social media can be used as a platform to advocate for positive change.
She said: “I think once a light is shed on how far we have to go, it’s easy for people to support a change in the law.
“I want people to think about how they are caring for their animals.
“If they see cruelty, report it, and if they see someone struggling to care for an animal or pet, offer them a helping hand.
“I also want people to be encouraged by the power of social media! Over 100,000 people signed my petition in less than 48 hours which is just astonishing – and it can translate to real action and change.”
Feature image: Bea Elton has launched the campaign. Picture: James Rudland
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