Huge increase in dog thefts during lockdown year

The true extent of increasing dog thefts in West Tyrone since the start of the pandemic is not being reported, a local councillor has claimed.

Dog thefts across the North rose by 51 per-cent last year in comparison with 2019.

In April of this year alone, eight puppies were reported stolen from the Pullyernan area of Castlederg.

In the Fermanagh & Omagh District Council area, there were five dog thefts reported to police in 2020, a slight increase from four in 2019.

A motion was recently passed at Derry City & Strabane District Council to instigate an awareness campaign around the dangers of dog thefts.

Derg SDLP councillor, Steven Edwards, who brought the motion forward, says that the figures are still significantly under-reported.

“There is massive under-reporting on the issue and for some reason people don’t go to the police with it all the time. The numbers we have aren’t reliable but there has still been a big increase across the council area, given the amount of people that have contacted me and other councillors,” Cllr Edwards said.

“Over the pandemic, dog prices have skyrocketed and with that thefts and attempted thefts of dogs have risen. I would say that over the past year I have had 15-20 different people contact me about dog thefts and suspicious behaviour, and that’s only in the Derg district area.”

The councillor added that confidence in policing of the issue may be the reason why the figures are under-reported.

“When people’s dogs go missing they seem to rely on local charities more and they put the word out on social media to try and find them. I just don’t think that people are geared towards going to the police for things like this.”

Current legislation means that the theft of an animal is not treated any differently than the theft of objects such as a mobile phone or a vehicle. The rise in thefts is thought to be linked to rising prices of dogs and puppies since the onset of Covid-19, due to increased demand from families and individuals spending more time at home.