Police Dog Unit Proves a Success

Tue, 09 Mar 2010

A new dog unit within the Metropolitan Police has had a successful first year, removing more than 1,000 dangerous dogs from the streets. The pioneering team was established on March 2nd 2009 to help tackle the problem of violent animals in London. Comprised of a sergeant, five constables, a civilian worker and a senior RSPCA officer, the team is responsible for targeting people who breed, sell and fight dogs . Of the 1,070 animals seized last year, 900 were pit bulls, with the number of people cross breeding pit bulls to make money on the up.

With more gangs using pet dogs as weapons, puppies can fetch as much as £300 or £400 each, though the RSPCA has warned that so great is the supply of the animals now, many dogs are left unwanted and considered by many as too dangerous to be rehomed as pets . The police unit is targeting inner London boroughs most affected by knife crime, as they believe the dangerous dogs are replacing guns and knives as gangs’ weapons.

The status dog unit works closely with animal welfare agencies and charities such as the RSPCA. One partnership between such organisations is BARK, a partnership which aims to teach people about responsible dog ownership and provide free microchipping by vets .

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.