FOI 1330-2025/26 - Dangerous dogs seized

Request:

This request relates specifically to dogs seized on suspicion of being a prohibited type, not to those involved in offences under Section 3.

Please provide the following information for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025, or the most recent 5-year period available.

If providing 5 years of data would exceed the cost limit, please provide the same information for the most recent 3-year period instead.

Q1. Seizures and Outcomes

a) The total number of dogs seized under Section 1

b) Of those seized, the number:

          i - Disclaimed by the owner

         ii - Returned to the owner as not being of a prohibited type

        iii - Subject to a Contingent Destruction Order and added to the Index of Exempted Dogs

        iv - Ordered to be euthanised by the court

Q2. Timeframes

a) The average time between seizure and formal assessment/typing decision

b) The average time between seizure and final outcome (e.g. return, exemption, or destruction

c) Where available, the average time between seizure and return for dogs found not to be of a prohibited type

Q3. Kennelling and Costs

a) The average cost per dog per day for kennelling

b) The average length of stay in kennels for dogs seized under Section 1

c) If available, the total annual cost of kennelling for Section 1 dogs

Q4. Additional Context (if recorded)

a) Where recorded, the number of Section 1 seized dogs with a prior recorded incident of aggression towards a person

Q5. Clarification

If it is not possible to separate Section 1 data from other Dangerous Dogs Act data, please provide the closest available dataset and explain any limitations

Response: 

Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information

To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police.

I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police. 

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the following information to you.

Q1a. Please see the table below showing the total number of dogs seized under Section 1 between 01 January 2020 and 31 December 2025, broken down by calendar year.

Calendar Year	Count
2020	0
2021	2
2022	0
2023	1
2024	27
2025	14
Total	44

Q1b. Of those seized, the number that were Disclaimed by the owner, broken down by calendar year.

Calendar Year	Count
2020	0
2021	0
2022	0
2023	0
2024	10
2025	2
Total	12

 Those Returned to the owner as not being of a prohibited type, broken down by calendar year

Calendar Year	Count
2020	0
2021	2
2022	0
2023	0
2024	6
2025	1
Total	9

 Those Subject to a Contingent Destruction Order and added to the Index of Exempted Dogs, broken down by calendar year.

Calendar Year	Count
2020	0
2021	0
2022	0
2023	0
2024	5
2025	7
Total	12

Those Ordered to be euthanised by the court, broken down by calendar year

Calendar Year	Count
2020	0
2021	0
2022	0
2023	1
2024	6
2025	4
Total	11

Q2a. 4 days

Q2b. 109 days

Q2c. Approximately 14 days

Q3a. £26

Q3b. 109 days

Q3c. I am not obliged to provide you with a response to your request pursuant to Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please note that when one part of your request falls under Section 12, we are not obliged to review the rest of the questions and the whole request is therefore exempt. I have however decided to disclose the located information for the rest of the request to you as a gesture of goodwill.

Section 12(1) applies to your request as the cost of complying with your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of identifying and retrieving any relevant information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Due to the nature of our recording systems the information requested, if held, is not in an easily retrievable format. Our information retrieval process generally relies on a computer ran report which captures any information recorded upon the surface of a record or within specified fields. Where relevant information is held deeper in the record, or outside of a specified field, a manual assessment is required to retrieve that information.

In order to retrieve the requested information for Q3c, it would be necessary to manually review all costs associated with kennelling of seized dogs to establish which relate to those seized under Sec 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act, this manual review to split these costs out would exceed the time limit allowed under the Act. 

Pursuant to Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice.

Q4. Please see the number of Section 1 seized dogs with a prior recorded incident of aggression towards a person, broken down by calendar year.

Calendar Year	Count
2020	0
2021	0
2022	0
2023	0
2024	4
2025	2
Total	6

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.