Britain's Unwanted Pets - on tonight BBC1 8.30pm

Panorama BBC1 20:30 - Monday 2nd August.



You'll be able to watch it live here.

The UK's oldest animal shelter says it had to put down roughly one third of the dogs it took in last year.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home said it had no choice but to destroy 2,815 animals - of which 1,931 were healthy - because they were unsuitable to rehome.

The charity rehomes or returns about 5,000 dogs a year, but a growing number are put down because their behaviour means they pose a safety risk, it says.

The charity says the issue of stray, aggressive dogs needs to be addressed.

yes we noticed you said KILL and not euthanise or pts Mr Tim Wuss
read more....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10807271

I dont think the person quoted actually enjoys this part of his job having to "Kill" these dogs, but I think his point was more to try and hit home that the gentle way of saying it ie PTS dosnt seem to have the impact required to get it through to people that they are breeding/not training dogs that cannot be rehomed due to aggression, anyone that works in a rescue hates the fact that there are hundreds of dogs that if raised correctly could be placed in loving caring homes, but sadly the number IS rising on dogs that this can never be the case for.

Mo

Sad, I agree with Mo I think that was away of telling everyone......''thats what we are having to do and we do not want to do this....... pts always sounds to me a gentle way of saying things, maybe the word Kill will hit home that whilst the people who toss these poor animals aside without a second thought......someone else has a dirty job to do

GRrrr makes me so mad The sickest thing is, the people KILLING these dogs are your everyday person, people who live next door to you, people you work with, old friends, even family. This godamn place has just got so self centered without a second thought for these poor dogs who only live to please people.

I like this quote "Mr Wass said he believed some dog owners took more responsibility for their furniture than their dogs"

Just says it all.

Hence, another program I can't bear to watch

I agree with the above, the word "kill" is not a expression used to discribe his own feelings on this,but to give a more a shock, sit up and listen, impact !!

Will be hard to watch, saw a bit on the news this morning,

Kinda typical Panorama though, sensationalise to the extreme...and then a bit more, but in this case, probably not a bad thing.

I don't think I can bear to watch this programme as I find it too upsetting. But I'm glad that it's being aired ~ maybe it will have some effect on those thinking of getting a dog ~ perhaps they'll realise that they can't offer a dog what it needs or maybe they'll be willing to take on one of these rescue dogs if they are able to offer it a good life?

But whilst the problem of strays & abandoned dogs may be getting worse, & that there are now more bull breeds in rescues than ever before, part of me thinks that the alternative to euthanasia for these dogs could be worse .

I agree, sometimes there are worse things that can happen to a dog that beign PTS!!

I saw a clip of this on tv this morning. The bit that caught my attention was the reporter in the kennels/pound with the police officer:

Police: This one's a pit bull type so will have to be put down.

Reporter: What makes him a pit bull type - it's obviously not his character.

Police: Well basically, he looks like one.....

(I admit - seeing a dog wag his tail in a cage isn't a full & thorough test of temperament, but a full and thorough test isn't required if the dog looks like a type.)