Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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334. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if his Department collates data on the number of dangerous dogs that have been euthanised or killed in the past four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29788/18]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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My Department publishes statistics in respect of the range of dog control responsibilities of local authorities, including the number of dogs euthanised in local authority pounds. Information up to and including 2017 is available on my Department’s website at the following link .

I am pleased to note that the total number of dogs euthanised in 2017 in local authority pounds was 996, a reduction of over 40% on the previous year, continuing the trend in the decline in the number of dogs being euthanised – down from a high of just over 21,000 in 2002.

The data recorded in respect of numbers of dogs euthanised does not differentiate between those breeds that are included in the Control of Dogs Regulations, 1998, and those that are not.