Scotland's Stray Dog Survey shows 22% drop in strays

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24108125

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The number of stray dogs being picked up in Scotland has fallen by more than a fifth for the second year in a row, according to a survey.

The Dogs Trust commissioned the Stray Dog Survey that found the total number fell 22% to 3,525.

The charity said it believed the drop was due to better education, neutering and microchipping campaigns.

However, the Borders bucked the trend, recording a rise of almost 25% in the number picked up by the authorities.

On average, 10 dogs a day are picked up by local authorities in Scotland.

For the second year running, Scotland saw a far greater fall than the UK average.

'Huge step forward'

The UK stray dog figure was down 6% over the year to April, at 111,986.

Dogs Trust chief executive Clarissa Baldwin said across the UK almost 9,000 dogs were humanely destroyed each year.

She said: "They do not want to put dogs to sleep but they are struggling to cope with such huge numbers of dogs in a difficult economic climate.

"Simple steps such as microchipping can help prevent accidental strays and the fact that more dogs are being reunited with their owners because of microchips is a huge step forward."

Dogs Trust is the UK's largest dog welfare charity and cares for more than 16,000 dogs a year.

Its survey got responses from 325 local authorities across the UK.

It said that in cases where stray dogs were reunited with their owners, 40% were due to microchips.