Cardiff residents are concerned about the number of dogs being stolen across the city.
The city’s charity ,Dog Lost, says six dogs have already been stolen in the first few weeks of January alone. Their figures show 52% of dogs are taken from homes, 19% as a result of burglary and 16% while on dog walks.
Penny Bowers, a volunteer from Dog Lost, says there are many reasons why people steal dogs.
“They might do it specifically to burglarise, and sometimes that can be specific breeds, such as French Bulldogs.
“So if anybody knows there’s a litter, they might go and steal it because they are going for vast amounts of money, at over a thousand pounds a puppy”.
She says Pontcanna Fields and Hailey Park are some of the targeted spaces and residents say they have noticed a blue van with two men and a woman in it attempting to take dogs from their owners.
Some dog walkers in Hailey Park say more needs to be done, such as increased police patrols in parks and residents reporting suspicious behaviour.
Ms. Bowers says education is important to prevent people buying dogs from unreliable websites online.
“Making sure where you buy your dog from is important, you should be aware about buying them from the free ads”.
The recent outbreak of dog thieving in Cardiff coincides with a new bill to be discussed by MPs tomorrow. The Pet Theft Reform aims to change the way pet theft is dealt with by the police.
You can keep up to date with the developments via #pettheftreform on Twitter.
