Written evidence submitted by Tuks Law Scan Me (PWA0020)

Dear members of the ERFA Committee

We would like to introduce ourselves as a small campaign group who have been actively raising awareness of how rescue organisations register their back up contact information on microchip databases to prevent unnecessary euthanasia. On 20 May 2021 DEFRA and the RCVS updated the Code of Conduct on scanning microchips to reflect this support system.

We have been active for over 4 years and during that time have become increasingly concerned over the escalating numbers of companion animals seen on social media at risk of euthanasia and/or euthanised and that as pets not attached to a rescue do not have that same level of support.

During our debate on 28 June 2021 we raised those concerns to Westminster and Victoria Prentis acknowledged this with an assurance that government would be monitoring very closely the situation on pet abandonment as the country came out of the pandemic. We do not believe that has been done.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-06-28/debates/FAE1F98B-BE16-4016-B701-FAEF87D7055C/MicrochippingOfPets

We further raised concerns through our petitions and our Private Members Bill presented by James Daly MP for Bury North.

During the past 2.5 years we have kept examples of dogs and cats we are notified of as being at risk and are again petitioning for government to provide the RCVS with the support to centrally record information for research purposes to provide accurate and safe data to be used to form strategies on how to prevent unnecessary euthanasia in the future.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/625806

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/606922

The response we received from the now closed petition concerned us and resulted in the decision to keep our own records which we appreciated would be limited but realised that without that information government would continue to not act on its assurance made during our debate.

Currently in the UK there is no accurate data on the euthanasia of healthy and/or treatable companion animals. In 2019 we met the then president of the RCVS Mr Niall Cornell who confirmed there is no recorded euthanasia data. We also confirmed this with the British Veterinarian Association.

Local Authorities are subject to FOI requests but from our enquiries the majority of dogs in pounds are sent to local rescue centres for rehoming.

Rescue organisations are not subject to Freedom of Information requests and therefore no recorded data or shared information on euthanasia numbers is available.

At present rescue organisations are in crisis especially smaller rescues taking the more difficult to place breeds and dogs with behaviour issues and who have neither the funds nor the opportunity to be heard by government that the larger well funded organisations do who have high profile platforms available to them.

We set up a meeting with Justine Shotton the president of the British Veterinarian Association on 1 August 2022 to discuss an online article quoting the BVA on euthanasia numbers when we knew they did not hold data. The BVA segment has since been removed. During the meeting it was agreed that collating data would be advantageous for research purposes on breed, age, gender, reason for euthanasia request (behaviour, economic, change in owner circumstances, health), where the dog originated (breeder, private re home or rescue) and where the euthanasia takes place.

https://petkeen.com/animal-shelter-statistics-uk/

Justine put us in touch with Dan O’Neil the Senior Lecturer in companion animal epidemiology for the RCVS and co-leads the VetCompass Program as a research and teaching resource. We have spoken to Dan over the past few months with regards to our concerns and aims and he is supportive of our request for a central recording requirement of euthanasia numbers as a valued research opportunity.

In response to our petition there were 2 issues highlighted by government those being there is “no evidence of widespread unnecessary euthanasia requiring a government review or new reporting requirement”. We disagree there should be no action as there is no data recorded that the government can base that statement on and the response was targeted at animals who have a back up registration which the majority of bred dogs and cats and in particular ones bred and sold during the pandemic period do not have.

The response also stated “A review may also have resource implications for both the veterinary profession and for government”. We researched this ourselves and the ability to collate information directly from vet practices already exists. Whilst currently limited to health and disease this system provides an opportunity to gather wider information directly from veterinarian practices and veterinarians using SAVSNET

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/savsnet/about/

There are thousands of back street breeders who profited enormously during the pandemic selling pups. Pups were sold during a time where the ability to socialise and train them was non existent and with no health checks. People spent thousands of pounds on pups who rescue organisations are now seeing abandoned at the rate we predicted 3 years ago.

The majority of dogs we are aware of are 3 years and under and are being placed at risk of euthanasia or euthanised due to behaviour issues.

There was recently a meeting held in Westminster by the APDAWG group on “The State Of Rescue” where selected rescue organisations gave their accounts of the current situation and more recently a meeting regarding dog bites but no plan of action. Everyone agrees there is a problem but no one is being transparent on numbers of dogs at risk of euthanasia, why or how to correct this.

Our proposal is to ensure that accurate and safe data is recorded by veterinarians in all settings who are presented with a healthy or treatable dog or cat regardless of the outcome. The purpose is not to name or shame the veterinarian profession but to ensure that both they, rescue organisations and government have the ability to determine where changes need to be made and why. This could be through education, breeding restrictions, breeder accountability (we are currently awaiting the results of the consultation on microchip databases as we requested that RBU be formally recognised on the microchip databases as a secondary contact and for that to remain on the microchip for life and we understand breeder details would be included), access to breed specific rescue directories such as that provided by the Kennel Club, who we met online in September 2022 and who also agreed the need for research and access to accredited behaviourists.

We would like the opportunity to speak to you regarding data we have available regarding Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with a proven success rate within the sector of young dogs with behaviour changes within the juvenile period. Currently behaviour training techniques are linear and alternatives should be available in the UK.

The information we have included is a snap shot of a 4 month period (3 May 2022 - 3 September 2022) and limited to posts on social media that we have been alerted to via our Tuks Law facebook page. This we believe is a minute fraction of what is happening across the UK.

We thank you for the opportunity to provide our input and hope that the request for research will be made available to Mr Dan O’Neil at VetCompass and his colleagues within the veterinarian profession.

Dawn Ashley and Sue Williams - Tuks Law

Reason	Age	Breed	Gender
Bitten Owner	Unknown	Terrier	Unknown
Nips & Jumps	18 months	Bull Breed	Male
Unknown	4.5 years	Saluki x Bull Mastin	Unknown
Smashed Leg	2.5 years	Greyhound	Male
Unknown	9 months	Bull Breed	Unknown
Reactive	18 months	Rottweiler	Male
Not Friendly	18 months	Chihuahua	Unknown
Growling/Snapping	2 years	Lhasa Apso x JRT	Unknown
Kennel Guarding	13 years	Cross Breed	Female
Kennel Guarding	Son of Above	Cross Breed	Male
To Old To Breed	Unknown	Staffy	Female
Aggression	5 years	Springer Spaniel	Male
Bitten Child	7 months	Malinois	Unknown
Escaped & Bit Child	2.5 years	Old English Bulldog	Male
Unknown	2.5 years	Unknown	Female
Bite History	5 years	Staffy	Female
Dog seized when owner arrested	Puppy	Mixed Breed	Unknown
Bitten	1.5 years	Golden Retriever	Male
Dog Aggressive & Attacked A Cat	2 years	Unknown	Male
Owner In Hospital	12 years	Cat	Male
Owner In Hospital	12 years	Cat	Female
Owner In Hospital	13 years	Cat	Female
Doesn’t Like Cats	Unknown	Staffy	Unknown
Eaten Stones (Economic)	1 year	Labrador	Female
Owner Cannot Cope	Unknown	Hare Hound	Female
Near Miss Bite	11 months	Cocker Spaniel	Male
Owners Cat Had Kittens	1 year	Unknown	Male
Owner Wants To Rehome or PTS	2 years	GSD	Male
Bitten Owner	Unknown	JRT	Unknown
Unknown Issues	16 months	Malinios x GSD	Unknown
Issues With Cats & Small Dogs	2.5 years	Malinios	Unknown
Unsettled Past	11 months	Unknown	Male
In Local Pound	4 months	Unknown	Female
In Local Pound	Unknown	Unknown	Male
Bit Owners Partner	2.5 years	Old English Bulldog	Female
Nervous	3 years	Unknown	Male
Stray	2 years	Mastin Type	Male
Stray	18 months	American Bulldog	Male
Owner Did Not Want	Various	Cross Breeds & Greyhound	Various
New Baby In Home	Unknown	JRT x Patterdale	Male
Nipped (Taken To Vet As A Stray)	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Owner Unable To Cope	17 months	Malinios x GSD	Female
Snapping At Children	6 years	Cocker Spaniel	Male
Previous Rehome & Returned	1 year	Beagle	Female
Bitten Child	14 months	Unknown	Unknown
Euthanised by Woodgreen Rescue	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Was to be returned to owner.
Growled At Husband	Unknown	Unknown	Male
Bitten	4 months	American Bulldog	Unknown
Reactive	4 years	Bull Dog	Male
Reactive To Men	2 years	Malinios	Unknown
Unknown	17 months	Shar-Pei	Male
Prey Drive & Anxious	3 years 8 months	Malinios x Greyhound	Male
Bitten Once	12 months	Husky	Male
Owner Request Euthanasia	16 weeks	Collie Type	Female
Resource Guarding	8 months	Cockerpoo	Male
Bouncy Around Children	2 years	XL Bully	Male
Incontinent	Unknown	Cat	Unknown
Resident Dog Attacked Her	Unknown	Unknown	Female	Was noted she had been hit
Bitten	Unknown	XL Bully	Unknown
Owner Stated Too Bouncy	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Owner surrendered dog to the police
Unknown	Unknown	English Bulldog	Male	Taken to vet for PTS
Unknown	Unknown	Bull Breed	Male	Taken to vet for PTS
Nips	3.5 years	Lurcher Cross	Male	Owner Pregnant
Owner Deceased	12 years	Bull Breed	Unknown
Unknown	Unknown	Staffy	Male	Owner Didn’t Want Anymore
Elderly Owner Can’t Cope	Unknown	Bull Breed	Female
Stray	2 years	Malinios	Male	Found with dog below
Stray	2 years	Malinios	Unknown	Found with dog above
Unknown	18 months	Bull Breed	Male
Spina Bifida	8 weeks	Bull Breed	Male
Unknown (Booked For Euthanasia)	4 years	Sight Hound	Male
Grabs Owner	8 months	Doberman	Male	Doesn’t like hosepipes
Growling Incident	Young	Mioritic Type	Unknown
Not Clean In House	Unknown	Bull Breed	Male
Nipped Grandchild	14 years	Unknown	Unknown	Owner stated child poked dog
Bruised A Person	Unknown	American Bulldog	Unknown
Bitten & Nervous	Unknown	JRT	Female
Incontinent & Fights Resident Dog	3 years	American Bulldog	Female
Owner Can’t Keep	11 months	Staffy	Male
Reactive	Unknown	Bull Breed	Male	Owner autistic
Owner Deceased	14 years	Staffy	Male	No one in family wants him
Illness In Family	16 months	Malamute x Mastin	Male
Unknown	17 months	Mastin	Male
Pound	Various	Various	Various	4 dogs booked for euthanasia
Struggled In Kennels	Unknown	Bull Lurcher	Male
Family Illness	1 year	XL Bully	Male	Owners husband unwell
Lunges On Lead	1 year	Pocket Bully	Male	Owner wheelchair user
Aggressive Behaviour	8 months	Malinios x GSD	Male
Bites & Resource Guarding	2 years	French Bulldog	Unknown
Bitten Mother In Law	1 year 10 months	French Bulldog	Unknown
Resource Guarding	2 years	Unknown	Male
Change In Owner Circumstances	Unknown	Bull Breed	Male
Separation Anxiety	19 months	Belgium Malinios	Male
Anxious & Aggressive	Unknown	GSD Type	Male	Owner died
Bitten	6/7 years	Unknown	Unknown	Rescue dog with RBU
Owner In Hospital	4 years	Shar-Pei	Female
Unknown	10 months	Bulldog	Unknown	5 homes prior to euthanasia
Aggressive	15 months	GSD	Male	Been kept in a cage
Bit Child	1 year	Unknown	Unknown
Scared Of Everything	8 months	Cross Breed	Male
Resource Guarding & Mouthing	7 months	Terrier	Unknown
Change In Owner Circumstances	2 years	GSD	Unknown
Superficial Bite To Owner	5 years	Cane Corso	Unknown	Dog escaped from house
Owner Doesn’t Want	5 years	Italian Mastiff	Unknown
Bitten	3/4 years	Old English Bulldog	Male
Seeking Foster Home Or Euthanasia	13 years	Staffy	Unknown
Bitten Owner	9 months	Doberman	Male
Resource Guarding	7 years	Cockerpoo	Female	Owner moving to residential care & cant take dog
Growling At Child	Unknown	Bull Breed	Female
Stray	Elderly	Labrador	Female
Economic	Unknown	Akita	Male
Anxious/Aggressive & Bitten Owner	2 years	Border Collie	Female
Hip Dysplasia	10 months	Bully Cross	Female	Bought for breeding
Separation Anxiety	3 years	Unknown	Female
Owner deceased	8 years	Sheepdog	Unknown	3 dogs 1 PTS 1 rehomed
Unknown	Unknown	Malinois X	Unknown	Elderly Owner
Bitten	Unknown	GSD Type	Male
Economic	Unknown	Cross Breed	Male	Rescue Dog With RBU
Food Aggression	1 year	Bull Breed	Male
Ex Stud Dog	Unknown	Unknown	Male
Bitten	Unknown	Lurcher	Unknown	Broke muzzle
Back Street Breeder	5 dogs	Tibetan Mastiffs	Unknown
Resource Guarding	5 years	French Bulldog	Male
No Space At Rescue	Unknown	American Bulldog	Male
Abused Dog	2 years	American Bulldog	Male
Unknown	12 years	Staffy	Unknown	Had been used for begging on streets
Aggression	5 years	Cocker Spaniel	Male	Partner pregnant
Seized By Police	6 x Pups	Unknown	Unknown	In Kennels
Unknown	Unknown	Cross Breed	Unknown	Taken to vet for euthanasia
Owner Health Issues	Unknown	Cross Breed	Male
Aggression	9 months	Cross Breed	Male
Stranger Reactive	3 years	Rottweiler x Mastiff	Female
Resource Guarding	2.5 years	Cross Breed	Male	Owner in hospital and no one wants him
Family Suicide	4 years	Lhasa x Shitzu	Male
Foster involved in RTA	Unknown	Bull Breed	Female	No RBU
Unknown	10 years	Cross Breed	Unknown	If no foster found dog to be euthanised
Nipped, Bitten, Fear Aggression & Dominant	3 years	Old Thyme Bully	Female
Economic	12 months	Malinois Cross	Male	Owner made homeless
Owner Suffers Anxiety	1 year	Small Corgi Size	Unknown
Nipped	5 years	Collie	Unknown	Small child pulled dogs collar
Unknown	18 months	Cross Breed	Male	Rescue Dog
Bitten	Unknown	Staffy Cross	Unknown	Ear infection
Owner Deceased	18 years	Cat	Female
Unknown	1 year	Akita Cross	Unknown	Booked at vet for euthanasia
Nipped	Unknown	Husky	Unknown	Child frightened dog
Owner’s Husband Died	8 years	Mastiff x Staffy	Unknown	4 dogs at risk
Fighting With Resident Dog	1 year	Bulldog	Female
Nervous & Reactive	Unknown	Bull Breed	Female
Stray	Unknown	American Bulldog	Unknown
Anxiety	Unknown	Malinois Type	Female
Nipped Child	11 years	GSD	Unknown
Aggression & Scared	3.5 years	GSD	Male
Prey Drive	5 years	Cross Breed	Male
Owner Made Homeless	3 years	Neapolitan x Mastiff	Unknown
Reactive To Men	18 months	GSD	Male
Bitten Owner	2 years	Cross Breed	Male
Aggression	12 months	Unknown	Unknown
Nipped Another Dog	12 years	JRT	Unknown
Bitten Child	2 years	Staffy Cross	Unknown
Resource Guarding	7 months	American Akita x English Mastiff	Male
Lunged At Another Dog	9 months	Central Asian Shepherd	Male
Bitten	1 year	French Bulldog	Male
Pound Stray	Unknown	Sighthound	Female
Mild Bite	18 months	American Bulldog	Male
Young Child Bitten	7 years	Collie	Male
Growled At Owners	18 months	Bully x Staffy	Unknown	Hosepipe Incident
Bit Owners Daughter	20 months	Malinois x Doberman	Unknown
Kennel Space Issue	2.5 years	Burmese x Newfoundland	Male	Kennel refuses to keep space open so owner euthanised
Fight With Another Dog	7 years	American Bulldog	Female	Owner pregnant
Attacked Another Dog	7 years	Dobermann
Reactive	5 years	GSD	Male
Unknown	8 years	Mastiff x Staffy	2 x Males	Not walked
Separation Anxiety	18 months	Shar-Pei	Male
Unknown	6 years	Lurcher	Unknown
Dog Reactive	18 months	Cane Corso	Male
Owner Died	12 years	Staffy	Male
Owner Can’t Cope	12-16 months	Malinois x Bull Breed	Unknown
Food Aggression	1 year	Beagle x Cocker Spaniel	Unknown
Unknown	Unknown	Akita	Unknown
Police Kennels Closing	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Snapping & Biting	4.5 years	Terrier	Unknown
Bitten	Unknown	Terrier Type	Unknown
Stray Dog In RTA	1 year	Lurcher	Male
Bite History	10 months	Dutch Herder	Unknown
Killed Neighbours Cat	2 years	Rottweiler	Male
Anxious & Bit Neighbour	4 years	Staffy x American Bulldog	Male
New Baby In House	Unknown	Husky	Male
Guarding Issues	2 years	French Bulldog	Unknown	8 homes to date
Birth Defect	10 weeks	Staffy Type	Female
Needed Hand Rearing	5 weeks	French Bulldog	Unknown
Owner Rehomed	Unknown	Staffy	Unknown	Not allowed pets
No Rescue Spaces	Unknown	Rottweiler	Female	PTS
No Rescue Spaces	Unknown	Rottweiler	Male	PTS
Resource Guarding	12 months	Dobermann	Male
Reactive	2 years	Staffy Cross	Female	Reactive after being bred from
Bit Neighbour	19 months	GSD	Unknown
Unknown	Unknown	Shar-Pei	Male	PTS
Owner Abandoned	Unknown	Mixed Breed	Unknown
Anxious With Children	3 years 3 months	Border Collie	Male
Aggression	Unknown	Cane Corso	Unknown
No Rescue Space	2 years 8 months	XL Bully x Neapolitan Mastiff	Male	Not getting on with resident dog
Destructive	18 months	Staffy	Unknown	Home alone
Nipped Child	2 years	Akita	Male
Bitten	2 years	GSD	Male
Nervous	1 year	XL Bully	Female
Bitten & Food Agressive	22 months	Rottweiler	Male
Bitten Child	1 year	Staffy Type	Unknown	Child broke up dog fight
Stray/Lost/Injured	Unknown	Spaniel	Unknown
Biting Child’s Feet	4 months	GSD	Male
Bite Accusation	9 months	Whippet	Unknown	Been in new home 3 days
Stray In Pound	1 year	Cane Corso	Unknown
Family In Crisis	18 months	Doberman	Male
Unknown	8/9 years	Unknown	Male
Owner Had New Baby	2 years	Cane Corso	Male
Killed A Poodle	7 years	GSD Tupe	Unknown
Killed A Cat	10 months	Labrador x Staffy	Unknown	Been in new home 3 weeks
Timid & Fighting Resident Dog	18 months	Border Collie	Male
Economic	12 years	Labrador	Male	Bad Leg
Blind	4 months	Rough Collie	Male
Aggression	Unknown	Staffy	Unknown	Sitting outside vets waiting to be euthanised
No Rescue Space	1 year	GSD	Unknown
Unknown	10 months	Cross Breed	Unknown	Had 6 previous homes
Owner Losing Home	12 years	Bull Breed	Unknown
Left At Vets For Euthanasia	Unknown	GSD x Staffy	Female

March 2023