Police lock up dog with no exercise for two years
By Claire Jones BBC News Online
Police kept a dog in a 1m (3ft) by 3m (9ft) cage for two years without ever exercising it, the BBC can reveal.
Stella was seized after her owner was arrested on an unrelated matter in Devon in 2014.
Devon and Cornwall Police refused to give specific reasons why the dog could not be exercised. They said she was considered potentially dangerous.
A worker at the kennels said they were told by police not to exercise dogs held under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Laura Khanlarian worked as an assistant at the private kennel used by Devon and Cornwall Police.
She said Stella left her kennel twice during her stay, only for behaviour assessments.
Ms Khanlarian said: "We were always told not to exercise or go into a kennel with any dogs, regardless of character, that had been brought in under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
"We were under no circumstances allowed to touch any of those dogs at all under any circumstances - which was hard.
"Animal welfare comes before anything, and that was my job. I don't believe I would be doing it properly if I would sit back and think that's ok. It wasn't ok - it's not ok."
Kendal Shepherd, a vet of 30 years and animal behaviour expert, said: "It's terrible. It's unjustified. It's wasting huge amounts of money and it's not doing a single thing to prevent dog bites.
"It's cruel. But it's what our system forces us to do."
The RSPCA has created a
guide to good practice for all police forces, which states: "Dogs must be provided with the opportunity to exercise away from their kennel at least once a day and this should be for a total of at least 30 minutes."
Stella, a pit bull-type dog, was considered potentially dangerous because of her breed, her behaviour when police seized her and her behaviour in assessments.
Court proceedings heard from her owner Antony Hastie who said there were no incidents of aggressive behaviour prior to her being seized.
Evidence heard during the court case included video footage of Stella's behaviour after she had spent nearly two years locked in the kennel.
Mr Hastie attended court 11 times over Stella, but in February 2016 it was ruled she should be destroyed.
Sgt Allan Knight, from the Devon and Cornwall Police dog handling unit, said the force has released dogs back to their owners during proceedings in the past.
"There will always be some dogs, for whatever reason, that cannot go back, and cannot get walked by staff because of the danger they possess.
"We are bound by the court process."
The force declined to offer a specific explanation as to why Stella should be kept in such a confined area and refused exercise for the length of time she was.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-35635935
The full story will be shown on BBC Inside Out South West on Monday 29 February at 19:30 and will be available on BBC iPlayer.