MP Sarah Olney has called on the government to tighten laws and increase penalties for pet abduction following the theft of Sura the Macaw from Richmond Park.

Sura was recently stolen while being free-flown by his owner near the Sheen Gate and ultimately is believed to have been killed by foxes when returned late at night by the roadside by his captor.

Sarah Olney said: "Over the last three years, instances of pet theft have risen dramatically.

"This national trend was brought tragically close to home in late June, when Sura, a green tipped Macaw and beloved feature of the local community was stolen. Sura was later returned to the site of his abduction, but was too weak to return home, dying later that evening.

"A new bill in Parliament will tighten the laws around stealing dogs but makes no provision for other animals.

"For this reason, I wrote to George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to urge him to extend the protections that will be afforded to dogs to all animals commonly kept as pets.

Sura the parrot was regularly flown in the park alongside his female companion Kasko by their owner who lives near the park's Sheen Gate.

The two parrots were enormously popular with regular visitors to the park, who have expressed outrage, disgust and sorrow and the theft of the bird.

Video footage, which was taken by walkers in the area, shows how Sura was captured by the driver of an Uber car just outside the Sheen Gate, in Fife Road, on Monday, June 20.

The valuable bird, which was three years old, can be seen jammed between the dashboard and front windscreen in some of the footage.

It is claimed the driver had been following the owner throughout the day and after managing to lure one of the parrots into his Toyota Prius, then made an unsuccessful attempt to capture his mate.

Eyewitnesses say they saw the driver trying to lure the second parrot, which was in a nearby tree, down to the ground.

People who captured images of the distressed parrot in the front of the car believed the taxi driver was the owner of the bird.

After Sura failed to return, the owner and his friends launched a desperate search of the park and surrounding roads and then via social media.

When it became clear that the macaw had been stolen they also contacted the police with a description of the car and driver, plus the number plate.

Campaigners set up a Google email address to seek information about the missing bird. Late on Saturday, an email was sent from someone claiming to be the daughter of the taxi driver, together with some video and still images.

Bizarrely, she claimed that the parrot had flown into the taxi and the driver had been unable to get it out. It appears he then drove to his home, thought to be in Essex, with the bird in the back of the car.

The daughter claimed that the driver had then taken it back late at night the following day. She sent video of the parrot in the boot of the car and then being left on the kerb in the dark close to Sheen Gate.

A search party visited the spot on Sunday morning where they found a mass of feathers. As a result, they believe the weak and hungry parrot has been taken and killed by a fox.

A Met Police spokesman said: "Police are aware of a theft of animal on Fife Road, Richmond, which occurred 20.50 hrs Monday 20th June. An investigation is being progressed by Richmond Parks Police.

"There have been no arrests at this time. Enquires are currently ongoing."