The number of threats and attacks by animals, primarily dogs, has increased dramatically in recent years, according to government statistics.

Data released dovetail with anecdotal evidence of attacks on humans and pets, including the New Year’s Day pitbull incident in Southampton and the recent biting incident in Southlands.

“I don’t have stats, but my feeling is there definitely seems to be more incidents of dogs wandering and been seen wandering around,” said Andrew Madeiros, owner of Ettrick Animal Hospital in Warwick.

“We have had, I would say, a few more bite cases, with animals coming in with dog wounds or dog-bite wounds. Again, probably over the last year we’ve seen more of that.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs reports 94 incidents of chasing and threatening behaviour by dogs in 2023 compared with 32 in 2021, a near tripling.

In 2023, 36 cases of biting of and injuries to people by dogs were reported versus the 17 incidents in 2021.

Over the same period, 38 biting incidents and injuries involving animals were recorded as opposed to 16 in 2021.

In 2023, Animal Control collected 422 live animals. In 2021, that number was 157.

Mr Madeiros noted an increase in the number of stray dogs and postings for lost animals.

“We also have a number of dogs that people bring to us. They have found them. We’ve had probably more than usual, people show up and saying, ‘I’ve found this dog somewhere’,” he said.

“We will take the dog, scan the chip and call the owner, if there is one, or the dog warden if there isn’t. I would say certainly in the last year we’ve seen more stray dogs being picked up and brought to us.”

“I’m certainly aware of more postings on Facebook of stray dogs. Because obviously we are linked to that — when somebody posts about lost pets, it will pop up on our work Facebook page as well,” he added.

The Ministry of Home Affairs noted: “To reiterate, statistics over the past few years indicate an increased number of canine-related incidents, and the dog committee is actively meeting and working on providing the ministry with recommendations. From these recommendations, legislative amendments will be tabled this year.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs did not provide any further details about the canine advisory committee, which has been established to provide recommendations on dog-related laws.