Tackling the unprecedented increase in stray dogs

Experts at The University of Nottingham are to set up a database of homeless animals in the hope of finding a solution to an unprecedented increase in the number of unwanted pets in the UK. The problem was highlighted by the BBC's Panorama programme "Britain's unwanted pets" after cameras were invited into Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to show the harsh reality of this growing problem. Based at the newly established Centre for Evidence-based Veterinary Medicine (CEVM) at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Dr Jenny Stavisky will spend the next three years trying to find out the true extent of the problem. She wants to know exactly how many animals are in shelters in the UK, how many animals are put down and what can be done to stop the unprecedented increase in dogs and cats being brought in to animal shelters and homes Dr Stavisky says: "People who run homes and shelters are working really hard to care for the UK's unwanted pets but their resources are limited and we want to find more cost and time effective ways to target those limited resources. We need to take a step back from the situation to look at the bigger picture. This way we can characterise the problem and hopefully then we can find ways to improve the situation and reduce the growing number of healthy animals that are euthanised." - Dr Rachel Dean, Director of the CEVM, said: "Jenny's work is a very important part of the Centre's work. We are studying both the owned and unowned pet population.