Ms Owczarek said: "It was like losing a child."

Supporters of the creation of the new offence said it would recognise the emotional impact caused by a pet being stolen and would help build a better picture of the scale of pet theft.Annabel Berdy, Senior Advocacy and Government Relations Officer for Cats Protection, said that a lack of specific legal protection for pets had allowed criminals "free rein to target much-loved animals for their own gain".

She said the Pet Abduction law "could be one of the most significant animal welfare laws of recent times and will make a huge difference to many owners and their much-loved pets”.Animal welfare groups have expressed concern that two other bills have run out of time in this Parliament.A bill put forward by the Conservative MP Selaine Saxby, which would have raised the minimum age at which a puppy can be brought into the country, is one of those which has been lost.

Harriet Main, public affairs manager for the RSPCA, said that " legal loopholes" had been "abused for many years by people making quick cash from the exploitation of animals" and said the charity would be calling on the next UK government to ensure this issue was put "straight back on the agenda".The former Environment Secretary Therese Coffey, now a backbench MP, had brought forward a bill which would have given the police greater powers to prosecute dog owners for attacks on farm animals in England and Wales.

"Livestock worrying", which can include barking, chasing, biting, and killing, is already illegal.

But the National Sheep Association's chief executive Phil Stocker says convictions are difficult.Ms Deacon founded a range of organisations, including the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society to engage doctors and healthcare professionals, Medcan Family Foundation to support other parents and carers, and Maple Tree Consultants where she worked with industry to press for change and improved outcomes.

She was also an active member of the Cannabis Industry Council.A joint statement issued by the organisation's co-chairs, Dr Callie Seaman and Jamie Bartley, alongside CEO, Mike Morgan-Giles, described Ms Deacon as "an inspiration and hero".

"Hannah was an absolute force of nature, concerned with protecting the life chances of not just her own children but many others in similar situations," they said."It was clear to those of us who knew Hannah that she would stop at nothing to achieve this."