Stray dogs cost Shropshire taxpayers £65,000 a year
Friday 6th August 2010, 8:17AM BST.
The problem of handling stray and abandoned dogs across Shropshire is costing county taxpayers more than £65,000 a year, according to details released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Shropshire Council also said that, in the last financial year, 508 dogs were collected across the area, excluding the Telford & Wrekin area, and, of those those, 187 were handed to kennels for rehousing and two were destroyed following veterinary advice.
The figures have come to light following a Freedom of Information Act request made by the BBC TV investigative documentary programme Panorama.
In a response to the BBC, the council said the overall cost to the authority of handling stray and abandoned dogs each year was £65,593.
It also states that the average cost to put a dog to sleep is £35 to £50, depending on the size of the dog, for the injection and subsequent incineration of the animal.
In response to a question about the council’s policy for handling stray and abandoned dogs, it says: “In summary we have a none destruction policy and re-home all strays that are not returned to the owner/retained by the finder.
“The only dogs that are destroyed are those done on veterinary advice.”
But despite the Panorama programme on Monday night, highlighting the fate of some of the dogs that are handed in to rescue centres or found on the country’s streets, Shropshire Council chiefs say there is not a major problem in Shropshire.
Tim Sneddon, head of Environmental Maintenance, said: “The dogs we collect are largely not abandoned strays but those that have escaped through open gates or over fences.
“There are no packs of stray or feral dogs in the area.
“This is supported by the very high reclaim rate of over 80 per cent in Shrewsbury.
He added: “A few years ago there were spikes in the numbers of stray dogs during school holidays, again supporting the open gate and escape theory, but since we have started targeting talks to schools these too seem to have evened out.
“We now collect approximately 220 per year from the central area.”
Mr Sneddon said the council also had a stray dogs register on its web site which informs people of the type of dogs it picks up.
To view the register, go to www.shropshire.gov.uk
By Russell Roberts
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why do people have dogs and think they can dump em it really makes me angry,i have 2 dogs and would never think of abandoning them,the dogs rareley are rehomed and end up being put to sleep through no fault of their own,i think people should think long and hard before getting a dog they might be cute as puppies but they do grow up and they do cost a lot of money to keep,something needs to be done to stop these dogs from suffering at the hands of their owners
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Unfortunately, a lot of the “dumping” happens because many kennels/rescue centres charge people for taking their dogs off the (i.e. if they cant cope with it any longer or cant afford it).
So therefore, to avoid further cost, people just dump them. Unfortunately, this costs more for the centres because the rescue staff have to be called out… So, it’s a backwards sytem really!
I have just recently adopted a staffy/border collie from Hillbrae Kennels near Shawbury and she is amazingly well behaved. More people should be rehoming dogs rather than encouraging more breeders to produce puppies!!
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Please be reassured that stray dogs collected in the Telord and Wrekin area are looked after by the great staff at Hilbrae until their owner collects them or a new home is found. Hilbrae’s policy is NOT to destroy healthy stray dogs.
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I tried to rehome a dog, but having young children made us, as a family, unsuitable. There seems to be a huge problem with staffie type dogs being dumped (Battersea programme on bbc and report on Staffies being dumped in Stoke is proof of that.) Isn’t it about time that breeders were made to get a licence before they can start breeding puppies? At the moment anyone can do it and that seems reckless.
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Young children shouldn’t make you completely unsuitable, it can just make finding the right dog a little harder.
I couldnt believe the amount of staffies that were at every kennels I visited and there is nothing wrong with them!!! Infact, they’re one of the most loveable caring breeds, especially with children. they’re reknown for being VERY loving.
Unfortunately, people just don’t know how to correctly ‘look after’ a dog. A dog has to become part of your pack and you have to be the pack leader or they’ll dominate you when they get older. Which is always what happens with Staffies and because they’re so strong, people just give them up. The strength and any aggression is almost always just a sign of lack of exercise and stimulation.
We’ve had our staffy/collie cross from Hillbrae Kennels for 4 weeks now and she is perfectly well behaved, heels off the lead and knows all her basic commands … and she loves to get up on the sofa for a good snuggle, haha.
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Hi there, totally agree.
So pleased to hear you are enjoying your new Staff, they are wonderful dogs, i have one myself.
So sad so many Saffies are being abandoned, your right, they are strong minded dogs and require lots of stimulation and excersise just like most other breeds, so gentle and loving. I totally adore mine to pieces….
Have loads of fun and snuggles with your new baby xxx
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why are councils so bad at this sort of thing
when they could give this sort of money to a charity run animal home and let them have the
contract to do the job this money would last for
five years or more not just one and the boss there would not be on two or three hundred thousand a year and instead of the council collecting strays and taking them to the charity
they would go straight there instead of a £65.000 taxi service stop trying to tell us how to suck eggs
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Also, I say bring back the dog license but with restrictions on breeding and microchipping – so at least any dumped dogs can be traced back to the owners!
It would certainly stop people making rash decisions about buying a dog!
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i would just put them down, that must be cheaper for the taxpayer, at least we would pay less council tax then!
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Maybe put down dangerous or sick dogs, but a lot of these dogs go on to make great pets.
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The dog breeders should be picking up this bill. Seems anyone can breed dogs, make a profit and then walk away from the mess of unwanted dogs.
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Oh come on Adam you cant blame the breeder.People dump dogs that’s a fact, enforced micro chipping problem solved via kennel club registration .
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£65,000 a year? That’s not very much, really, is it?
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£65,000 a year It’s not much compared with the Million pounds plus that the councillors claim in expenses.
7 David Green. We should put all the murders down, they are supposed to be educated,that would save millions not thousands of pounds. Remember most of the dogs have done nothing wrong. I am typing this with my 2 dogs, Molly who is a 12 year old cocker spaniel, and Meg who is a 8 year Labrador both asleep at my feet after their walk, What could be more relaxing.
You are not a Dog lover yourself then?
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We went to Hilbrae the other week to have a look at dogs and they are all staffy/boxer cross type dogs commonly associated as now unwanted chav/status dogs.
This is where the problem lies, stop these people owning dogs and you will solve the problem..
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Twisting my melon (interesting name!) – I totally agree with you. Staffie’s have unfortunately received a bad press because young chav types have been owning and breeding them and selling them on to their equally irresponsible associates with the attitude, “OOh, look at my vicious dog, straining on the lead – don’t I look impressive and hard” It makes me very angry when you see breeders of staffies advertising them for sale – I’m all for reducing legislation but dog breeding, particularly for breeds where we clearly already have more than we can look after, should be made illegal to do or advertise. We need to take away the incentive to reproduce these dogs – as lovely as they are, who knows what suffering they have been subject to before being taken in by the rescue centres. Clearly they make lovely pets.
… and David Green – they do say that people with no compassion for animals are often “emotionally warped” in respect of their fellow man also.
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just put them down, its cheaper, there is a crematorium in emstrey for them
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