Big drop in number of dogs put down in NI

The number of unwanted and stray dogs put down by councils in Northern Ireland has fallen by 90% in the past nine years.

Some 1,615 dogs were put to sleep in 2011 across the then 26 NI councils, according to Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs data.

That figure dropped to 152 in 2019-20.

The charity Dogs Trust welcomed the reduction but raised concerns many dogs could be abandoned in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It predicts that as a result of the pandemic, up to 40,000 dogs in the UK could be at risk of being abandoned and straying.

Encouraging responsible dog ownership was key to reducing the number of dogs being destroyed, said the charity.

It offers a subsidised neutering scheme, as well as access to free micro-chipping for dogs, via local councils, which it says have led to a reduction in the stray dog population in recent years.

Dogs Trust is one of a number of organisations warning many dogs will now be abandoned as life starts to return to normal in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Demand for puppies soared during lockdown, the Dogs Trust said, but with some analysts forecasting a financial crisis on par with the 2008 crash, many of these animals could end up as strays.

"The sad reality is that in times of financial hardship many people struggle to cope with looking after their pets, and the number of abandoned dogs has gone up," said Dogs Trust's chief executive Owen Sharp.

"We saw this in 2008, and we're extremely concerned that history could repeat itself."

At that time, the Dogs Trust said the number of abandoned dogs increased by 25%; euthanasia rates went up by a similar amount the following year.

Many pet owners may also be challenged by pet's behavioural problems - such as separation anxiety - as lockdown eases, said the charity.

The Daera figures show the number of dogs killed has fallen by at least 80% during the last nine years across all 11 NI councils (Northern Ireland's 26 district councils were replaced by 11 larger councils in 2015).

The biggest reduction was in the north west, where just three dogs were put down last year in Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC).

The councils that merged to form DCSDC - Derry City Council and Strabane District Council - euthanised 245 dogs in 2011.

Education and enforcement initiatives, "alongside a close-working partnership between council and our local animal-rehoming charities", were behind the reduction, said a DCSDC spokesman.

Fewer dogs being owned by irresponsible owners means "fewer litters of unwanted puppies were no longer being surrendered to the dog shelter," added the spokesman.

Ards and North Down Council did not euthanise any dogs in 2019-20.

Stray dogs are kept by the council for a statutory seven days after which, if the animal is unclaimed, they are transferred to rehoming centres with a view to being found them new homes, said a council spokesman.

Prior to 2016, the number of dogs destroyed in Northern Ireland was recorded by calendar year. It is now collated per financial year.