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Over 5,000 dogs reported stolen since 2013

More than 5,000 dogs have been reported stolen to police forces in England and Wales since the start of 2013, a BBC investigation has found.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show a 22.6 percent rise in reports in two years, reports the BBC.

Calls for a specific crime of pet theft have been introduced by Gareth Johnson, Conservative MP in Kent.

Figures showed at least 5,188 dogs have been reported stolen since 2013.

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They indicate 1,454 taken in 2013, 1,577 in 2014, 1,739 in 2015. In the first four months of this year, there were a reported 418 offences.

Some forces reported the theft of several dogs at the same time as a single offence.

Breeds targeted include popular celebrity dogs such as French bulldogs and pugs, as well as Staffordshire bull terriers.

Nik Oakley, from Dog Lost – which reunites lost and stolen dogs with their owners – said gun dogs such as Labradors, cocker spaniels, and springer spaniels were being taken for working purposes and illicit breeding.

 

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