Dog stolen as West Yorkshire Police launch daily update on dog thefts
and live on Freeview channel 276
A Jack Russell was reported as stolen in Bradford on Monday, according to the force.
The crime reference number for the incident is 13210255032
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe latest police data shows that 150 dogs were recorded as stolen from the county between January 2020 and February 2021.
Of those stolen, just 28 dogs were found, with 81.3 per cent of dogs not recovered.
This means a total of 122 dogs were not found by the police.
Two arrests were made in relation to the reports of dog theft - just 1.3 per cent of all recorded cases.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdWest Yorkshire Police's rural and wildlife crime team posted to Facebook on Saturday: "Because we are aware of increasing concerns about stolen dogs across the force area we will start to publish the numbers as part of our daily report."
There have been no reported incidents of dog theft in the region since Monday.
The taskforce will look into what is contributing to the increase in thefts, and recommend solutions to tackle the problem.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt will be made up of officials from Defra, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice as well as the police, seeking input from animal welfare groups and experts.
In March, DogLost, a UK charity that helps victims of dog theft, recorded a 170% increase in the crime, from 172 dogs reported stolen in 2019 to 465 in 2020.