Stray Dog Survey results for 2012 released

Every year, Dogs Trust commissions a survey of the country to establish, as accurately as possible, the state of the stray dog problem in the UK.

The results of the survey were released today, and you might have seen quite a bit of radio and television coverage today. Some of the key points are below, and you can see a breakdown of regional figures (compared to last year) on our website, where we will also post the full report as soon as it's available in the appropriate format.

• A shocking 118,932 stray and abandoned dogs were picked up by Local Authorities across the UK over the last 12 months, equating to a staggering 325 stray dogs being found every day.
• Of these 118,932, a significant proportion in London and other urban areas were those breeds identified as ‘status dogs’ by the media. In the Granada region the numbers of stray ‘status dogs’ have risen by 82%, in Greater London they have increased by an incredible 148%.

Dogs Trust’s City Dogs project reaches out to the owners of so called ‘status’ dogs; since its launch in 2010 the project has neutered one dog a day in Greater London, helping to reduce the number of unwanted Staffie type puppies. Dogs Trust has also provided local authorities in Greater London with 2,750 free neutering vouchers and the Metropolitan Police with an additional 200 vouchers that are largely offered to the more vulnerable owners of bull breeds.

Dogs Trust has written to DEFRA ministers to update them on the rise in numbers of abandoned ‘status’ dogs and is urging them to consider compulsory microchipping as a way to help identify irresponsible owners.

You can also read the full press release on our website.