'Worrying' stray terriers trend

Stray Staffordshire Bull Terriers could be put down automatically

A council struggling to cope with a rise in stray Staffordshire Bull Terriers said it suspected they may have been bred for fighting.

Worcester City Council has picked up 25 of the breed in three months and said some had scar tissue on them.

It said it was hard to find them new owners and two dogs it had re-homed had attacked the families' other pets.

It said any stray Staffordshire Bull Terriers it found in the future may put down "as a matter of procedure".

The council, which is legally responsible for picking up stray dogs, said it had put down six Staffordshire Bull Terriers since January.

The dogs may have been bred for fighting and with a number of the dogs appearing to have scar tissue it certainly gives weight to this theory Martin Gillies, environmental health manager

It said it was considering an automatic euthanasia policy for the breed, in light of attacks by two separate dogs in the past two months.

The council said its policy was to try to re-home all dogs that had not been reclaimed after the statutory seven day period, under the environmental protection act.

Of the 63 stray dogs it has picked up since July, 25 have been Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

Police matter

Martin Gillies, the council's environmental health manager, said: "It is a very worrying trend."

He added: "It may be the case that Staffies are seen by some as a 'fashion accessory'.

"Alternative theories suggest the dogs may have been bred for fighting and with a number of the dogs appearing to have scar tissue it certainly gives weight to this theory."

He said councils in Birmingham had also noticed an increase in Staffordshire Bull Terrier strays.

Worcester City Council said the matter would now be referred to the police.