Number of ‘dangerous’ dogs seized by South Yorkshire Police up 400 percent

Danielle Andrews
By Danielle Andrews
Published 8th Mar 2023, 10:03 BST
Updated 8th Mar 2023, 10:03 BST
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The number of dogs deemed dangerous and seized by South Yorkshire Police has skyrocketed by 400 per cent in the last three years.

In 2019, the force seized 43 dogs, which had increased to 215 by 2022.

Twenty-one dogs were destroyed in 2019, which had surged to 98 in 2022.

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Sheffield had the highest number of dogs seized in 2022 with 79, followed by Doncaster (67), Rotherham (38) and Barnsley (31).

The number of dogs deemed dangerous and seized by South Yorkshire Police has skyrocketed by 400 per cent in the last three years.The number of dogs deemed dangerous and seized by South Yorkshire Police has skyrocketed by 400 per cent in the last three years.
The number of dogs deemed dangerous and seized by South Yorkshire Police has skyrocketed by 400 per cent in the last three years.

The four-fold increase in the number of dogs seized comes despite just a 15 per cent rise in dog ownership nationally.

Rachael Attwell, South Yorkshire Police’s dog legislation officer said: ”In incidents involving a dog, our priority will always be to protect the public from harm, or further harm.

“Where there is an ongoing risk to public safety, we will seize the dog and assess whether it can be rehabilitated and rehomed. The decision to destroy a dog is not one taken lightly and will always be the last resort.”