STRAY DOGS TAKEN in by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are more likely to be put to sleep than those taken in by other dog controlling agencies, it has emerged.

Statistics compiled by the Department of the Environment, listing the number of stray dogs taken in by each of the 34 city and county councils in 2009, showed that the eight areas controlled by the ISPCA saw 58.7 per cent of strays put down.

In the 26 other areas – mostly controlled by local authorities themselves, though some authorities employ private contractors – the percentage of dogs that were put down was just over 34 per cent.

In all, 16,413 dogs were taken in across the Republic in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics have been compiled. 6,506 were put down, while 9,921 were successfully rehomed.

The statistics showed that the 13 areas which enjoyed the most successful records in finding new homes for their dogs were all managed by agencies other than the ISPCA, though Cork City is handled by the related Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

In Leitrim, just nine animals were put to sleep – a rate of 2.3 per cent – while neighbouring Donegal, in which the ISCPA holds responsibility for managing stray animals, almost 85 per cent of dogs were put down.

ISPCA chief executive Noel Griffin told today’s Sunday Times (subscription required) that the statistics for the number of dogs put down by the ISPCA was higher than others because it, unlike other groups, did not send dogs to Britain to be rehoused (or put to sleep) there.

“The exporting of dogs to the UK improves the statistics, but I would question where those dogs are doing,” Griffin said, adding that other agencies could not say for certain where their dogs were being sent.

It was difficult for him to understand how other animal welfare groups were able to find homes for animals which were “not the prettiest”.