THE most common stray dogs in Herefordshire have been revealed by newly released information.

The figures, revealed by a freedom of information request, show that dozens of dogs have entered Herefordshire's pound over the last four years.

The number of dogs entering the stray kennels has also shot up in recent years, with just 27 recorded in 2020 and 29 in 2021, in sharp contrast to the 69 strays reported in 2022, and 81 in 2023.

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Over the entire period, the greatest number of dogs entering the pound as strays have been terriers and sighthounds, with 30 of each recorded between March 2020 and the end of 2023.

They are followed by crossbreeds, with 21 recorded, Staffordshire bull terriers, with 19 recorded, and collies or kelpies, with 16 recorded.

Just seven dogs were recorded as being reclaimed by their owners in 2020, while 13 were reclaimed in 2021, 19 in 2022, and 26 in 2023.

Herefordshire Council said 19 of the stray dogs were adopted from the pound in 2020, 16 in 2021, 49 in 2022, and 55 in 2023.

No stray dogs were euthanised by Herefordshire Council, the information said. 

The data also showed that the vast majority of dogs picked up as strays in the last two years were either not chipped or were chipped but their chip's details were out of date.

It became compulsory under law for all dog owners to ensure their dog is microchipped and their details are kept up to date in 2016.

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At the time the Government said the measures would mean the UK’s 8.5 million dogs can be returned to their owners more quickly if they wander too far from home, and that it would make it easier to track down the owners of dogs that carry out attacks on people.

But a 2023 report published by the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home said they had found just 19 per cent of stray dogs were microchipped with an accurate microchip record that year, while 30 per cent did not have a chip, and 72 per cent of strays with a chop had an inaccurate and out of date record on the database.

The charity's annual survey said there had been a 25 per cent increase in the number of stray dogs collected nationally by local authorities in 2023 when compared with 2021.