New data from St Albans City & District Council (SACDC) shows the number of stray dogs that have been found and collected by the council during the past four years.
Based on new information gained through a freedom of information request, between April 2019 and March 2023, 134 dogs which were either lost or abandoned were located by authorities in the city.
There was a considerable drop in the number of dogs located between April 2020 and March 2021, with only 23 being reported. This was a period of time which was dominated by two long periods of social distancing and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The period with most lost/abandoned dogs discovered was April 2021 to March 2022.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: “It is always sad to hear that animals have not been claimed or sadly abandoned – and heartbreakingly this is something that the RSPCA is seeing more of.
“In the first five months of 2023, 7,700 incidents of abandonment were reported to the RSPCA’s emergency line – a substantial increase on the first five months of 2022.
“We do believe this is in part a result of rising costs on pet owners.”
SACDC declined to comment.
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