South Yorkshire Police sees 483 per cent increase in dogs seized

The number has increased 483 per cent since 2018 — with a rise of 91 per cent from 2021 to 2022 alone.

Figures for the Rotherham district show 89 dogs seized last year — a rise of 178 per cent from the 32 picked up by police in 2021.

Nationally, 2022 saw record numbers of human deaths from dog attacks — including Joanne Robinson (43), who was killed by her own beloved pet last July in Wath.

A large number of “lockdown dogs” bought during the pandemic — when behaviour and routines were different — has been cited as a cause, as well as the sharp rise in popularity of breeds like the XL bully.

Rotherham district commander Chief Supt Laura Koscikiewicz said: “We’ve seen an increase in horrendous dog attacks, but there’s also been an increase in concern about stray dogs, and even people with concerns about their own dogs’ behaviour, where they’ve been advised by the RSPCA to get in touch with us.

“It’s a trend we are really concerned about locally in Rotherham and more widely across South Yorkshire Police.

“This is a real concern nationally and there’s lots of work ongoing.

“We’re looking at the reasons for it.

“There is a potential hangover from lockdown, more people buying dogs, and there was potentially an increase in unregistered breeds.”

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “In Rotherham, we are seeing an increasing trend, especially in the Canklow and East Herringthorpe areas, in the ownership of XL bully dogs, particularly as ‘Covid dogs’ following the pandemic.

“These are currently legal within the UK but are increasingly being responsible as a breed for a proportion of dangerous dog incidents, including those where owners are injured themselves.

“SYP as a force is continually using both enforcement and educational activities to reduce the occurrence of dangerous dog incidents and mitigate the risks to the public.

“In September this year, we will be launching an educational input to be provided to Year 6 primary school students with regards to such dogs as part of their visit to the Lifewise Centre in Rotherham, run by our specialised dog legislation officers.”

Force-wide data shows there were 68 dangerous dog incidents in January 2022 but 118 in the same month this year.

The figure has been in over 100 for every month except one since March 2022, and there were 76 dogs seized during January and February this year — more than double the total for the same months last year.

South Yorkshire Police is the second force in the country to introduce a responsible dog ownership course, to be used as an alternative to court for owners after “low level” incidents.

The average number of nights dogs stay in kennels after being seized has reduced from 77 to 22 since 2018 — although there was an increase to 117 in 2019.

SYP’s dog safety advice includes the following:

• Never leave young children unsupervised with any dog
• Ensure dogs have somewhere safe and comfortable to go when you have visitors
• Consider installing a letterbox cage if your dog tends to attack your mail
• Ensure your dog is microchipped and wears a collar and tag with owner’s name and address.