Data on dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for 2022

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.029611

I note you seek access to the following information:

For the period 1 January 2022 to the 31 December 2022 please supply the following information;

1) How many dogs were seized in connection with the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991?

2) How many dogs died unexpectedly whilst in the custody of Metropolitan Police?

3) How many dogs whilst in the custody of Metropolitan Police became ill and were subsequently euthanised on veterinary advice in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006?

4) How many of the dogs that died subject to (2) and (3) above were sent for veterinary forensic post-mortem?

5) On the occasions that a veterinary forensic post-mortem was conducted were the results given to the owners of the said dogs?

6) If a seized dog becomes ill whilst in your care, do you
a) inform the owner immediately,
b) inform the owner after veterinary treatment,
c) do not inform the owner at all?

Policy Is it the policy of Metropolitan Police to supply the owner of a seized dog with a copy of the veterinary records and kennel records (business names redacted) when their dog is returned to them?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

For the period 1 January 2022 to the 31 December 2022 please supply the following information;

Q1 - How many dogs were seized in connection with the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991?

580 (five hundred and eighty)

Q2 - How many dogs died unexpectedly whilst in the custody of Metropolitan Police?

No dogs are recorded as ‘Died: In kennels.

Q3 - How many dogs whilst in the custody of Metropolitan Police became ill and were subsequently euthanised on veterinary advice in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006?

3 (Three).

Q4 - How many of the dogs that died subject to (2) and (3) above were sent for veterinary forensic post-mortem?

1 (One).

Q5 - On the occasions that a veterinary forensic post-mortem was conducted were the results given to the owners of the said dogs?

No

Q6 - If a seized dog becomes ill whilst in your care, do you
a) Inform the owner immediately,
b) Inform the owner after veterinary treatment,
c) Do not inform the owner at all?

Best practice is to speak with the owner at the earliest opportunity and before treatment, unless any delay would cause the animal any unnecessary suffering.

Q7 - Policy. Is it the policy of Metropolitan Police to supply the owner of a seized dog with a copy of the veterinary records and kennel records (business names redacted) when their dog is returned to them?

There is no policy to cover this.

Caveat: it must be noted that the information provided above is drawn from individually held records which are held locally by the respective kennel for their own records.

It is not mandatory to complete these records and therefore the accuracy of the information relies on the diligence of officers assigned to the keeping of a seized dog in police possession.

To locate ensure 100% accuracy in responding to your questions it would be necessary to review every record of a seized dog held for the date range you are interested in and unfortunately due to the number of dogs that have been seized in the MPS in that time, and the number of records that would need to be reviewed, this work would far exceed the appropriate cost limit under the Act, and would lead to your request for information being refused under Section 12(1) of the Act.

I have, however, made the decision not to apply Section 12(1) on this occasion and have instead made the decision to disclose the information that we have been able to locate to you.