City sees increase in number of stray and abandoned dogs

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

More abandoned dogs in poor condition are being picked up and rehoming them is becoming harder, councillors have been told.

Rising vets’ bills could be a factor behind the increase, according to a senior by Swansea Council officer.

Councillors heard that 250-280 stray and abandoned dogs were typically picked up per year in Swansea before the number dropped sharply during the Covid pandemic with 104 recorded in 2020-21.

Tom Price, pollution control and public health team leader, told the council’s audit and governance committee numbers were climbing back up to where they had been and that cost of living pressures and higher vets’ bills coincided with this.

“We are seeing more animals that require care which are being abandoned and we can’t track the owner,” he said.

Chipped

Mr Price said some stray and abandoned dogs weren’t chipped. Others were, he said, but the chip might identify the breeder not the current owner.

Impounding a dog incurs kennelling fees and the animal might as a last resort have to be put down by a vet due to medical or behavioural concerns or if it was on a banned list such as an XL Bully, although people can own an XL Bully if they have an exemption certificate.

The committee heard the council’s pest and animal control section was tightening up its procedures after in-house auditors picked up issues such as missing paperwork for destroyed dogs. Ten cases were looked at where a dog was put down and in two of them no consent form was found. The form should be signed by a vet and a council officer.

Driving home

Some pest and animal control contracts and expenditure weaknesses were also identified while staff were found to be driving home in council vehicles when the practice shouldn’t have been happening.

Mr Price said officers had been allowed to drive to and from work during the Covid pandemic to help “keep the show on the road”. He said one of the officers had left and another had gone on long-term sickness absence creating a work backlog. He said the team was now back up to full strength.

Mr Price said two-thirds to three-quarters of stray and abandoned dogs picked by the council were rehomed via third parties such as charities or suitable members of the public. Others were returned to their owners who would have to pay impoundment costs.

Mr Price said the council used to publicise information about impounded dogs but no longer did because some people tried to claim dogs that weren’t theirs.

National trend

A colleague of Mr Price said the rise in stray and abandoned dogs was a national trend and that rehoming them was becoming harder. “We are in slightly better position than most authorities but it is becoming more difficult,” he said.

The committee report listed actions being taken by the pest and animal control section to address the audit issues and committee chairwoman Paula O’Connor, who’s not a councillor, thanked the officers for their presentation. “It must be quite a challenging time for you all,” she said.

After the meeting the council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, when asked, that it picked up 204 stray and abandoned dogs in 2024-25, 286 in 2023-24, and 208 in 2022-23.