Kennels struggle to cope with rise in dumped dogs

DOG kennels are being swamped with unprecedented numbers of Staffordshire bull terriers abandoned across the Lothians, the Duchess of Hamilton warned today.

Kay Hamilton, chairperson of the Scottish Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue (SSBTR), said in East Lothian alone as many as six pups per day needed to be rehomed where a few years ago the figure would be around six per week.

She attributed the huge spike in unwanted Staffies to over-breeding and the prohibitive cost of spaying the animals. She also said the problem could be lessened by the Scottish Kennel Club urging potential owners to neuter or spay those dogs not intended for competition or breeding.

She said: "I have been involved with the SSBTR for 30-odd years and I have never seen it anything like this before. It's just terrible.

"It's become worse and worse, abandoned dogs, skinny dogs, it's getting to the point where we are struggling to cope with the numbers coming in.

"We cannot take every dog in and we are losing the place trying to keep going.

"Our primary purpose is to try to stop dogs being put to sleep for no good reason but at the minute that's happening because of the sheer numbers coming in. The Scottish Kennel Club should make sure every dog club was made to support their local rescue centre financially and high-light the problems we are seeing in their shows and literature."

Acknowledging the current boom of the breed, Jean Fairlie, parliamentary liaison officer for the Scottish Kennel Club, said her organisation actively encouraged spaying as a means of population control and called on the Scottish Parliament to beef up breeding laws.

She added the Scottish Kennel Club had no legal authority to clamp down on overbreeding and the legal limit for registered breeders is three litters per year.

"We want to see the Scottish Parliament take the bull by the horns and put down some proposals to lower this limit.

"We also need to educate the public not to go to commercial breeders to buy a puppy. By that I mean not to buy from puppy farmers.

"They should go to a person who is registered, doing everything within the law, paying attention to the number of litters they breed and who they are selling these to."

A spokesman for the Scottish SPCA said: "You just have to look at our website to see that more than half the dogs needed to be rehomed are Staffies or Staffie cross breeds."

Meanwhile Kenny Sharpe, assistant manager at Scottish SPCA Edinburgh and Lothians Rescue and Rehoming Centre, said: "Sadly, due to the Staffordshire bull terrier's appearance, with strong jaws and muscular shoulders, the breed is viewed by some as a status symbol.

"As a result, many visitors to our centre will not even consider or enquire about rehoming a Staffie, which is a real shame.

"Staffies actually make very good, loyal and loving pets and simply don't deserve to have this unfair reputation."