Met urged to phase out police dogs after spate of animal injuries during riots

The carnal rights foundation called for "safer, modern policing technology" to regenerate dogs and said "unlike quality officers, they did not take to enlist oregon enactment their lives connected the line"

The usage of constabulary dogs should beryllium phased out, Peta has told the Metropolitan Police commissioner aft animals were "burned" and "hit with bricks" during wide unit successful the UK this summer.

The carnal rights foundation called for "safer, modern policing technology" to regenerate dogs and said "unlike quality officers, they did not take to enlist oregon enactment their lives connected the line." Merseyside Police dogs Ike and Zoe were "hit by bricks thrown by the unruly crowd" successful Southport, Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) wrote successful the missive to Sir Mark Rowley this week.

It said Quga, a canine successful the aforesaid force, was bitten and strangled portion connected work successful July and aboriginal burned connected the backmost limb during the riots. In Staffordshire, a canine called Vixen "sustained a gash connected her close oculus erstwhile a rioter hurled a ceramic astatine her", it added. The UK-based radical said: "Over the years, we person besides work reports of dogs who person been punched oregon kicked oregon whose eyes person been gouged during altercations.

"The hazard of wounded portion working, dogs utilized by the constabulary are susceptible due to the fact that excessively often their wellbeing comes 2nd to different priorities. In June 2019, 2 dogs were near successful a blistery car for implicit 2 and a fractional hours portion their handling officers underwent training, resulting successful the illness and decease of a five-year-old Belgian Malinois named Ivy."

It added that the "continuous restocking" of constabulary dogs is contributing to the UK's "already sizeable stateless carnal crisis" wherever much than 100,000 are without a location astatine immoderate fixed time. Hundreds of puppies are bred to beryllium utilized by UK forces each year, with West Midlands Police unsocial holding 40 females and producing astir 100 puppies annually, Peta claimed. However, not each dogs are enactment to enactment by police.

Northumbria Police says connected its website that galore nether 18 months aged person "health conditions oregon behaviour needs" that forestall them from completing training, and they whitethorn "simply beryllium amended suited to beingness arsenic a household favored with radical who tin supply the time, attraction and committedness they need".

Peta's vice president of programmes, Elisa Allen, who sent the letter, said: "Dogs successful Britain's constabulary forces ne'er signed up to hazard their lives but are being battered connected the beforehand lines of riots and near to cook to decease successful blistery cars.

"Peta is urging the Metropolitan Police to extremity the usage of dogs and follow modern methods of maintaining instrumentality and bid that don't taxable animals to a beingness of violence." The Metropolitan Police, Merseyside Police, Staffordshire Police, and West Midlands Police person been approached for comment.