NEARLY 200 dogs have been stolen in Cumbria since 2018.

A Freedom of Information Act submitted to Cumbria Police asked for a breakdown of stolen animal data from each year between 2018 and 2023.

After carrying out a search of their criminal database for theft between 2018 and October 2023, Cumbria Constabulary provided a breakdown of the number of thefts across specific dog breeds.

A total of 188 dogs were reported as stolen.

The analysis suggests that the breeds most at risk of being stolen are Border Collies with 20 being stolen over the past six years and French Bulldogs with 19 reported stolen.

The data showed eight Cocker Spaniels have been stolen alongside seven Jack Russels, eight Lurchers, six Springer Spaniels, 12 Staffordshire Bullterriers and ten terriers. Meanwhile, a further 29 unspecified dog breeds have been taken.

The report shows that the number of dogs stolen almost doubled during the pandemic and increased from 23 and 24 reports in 2018 and 2019 respectively to 44 reports in 2020.

The data was broken down to show an increase in the number of thefts during Covid and a downwards trend since the Lockdown ended.

The number of dogs reported stolen has decreased since the end of Lockdown to 39 in 2021, 35 in 2022 and down to 23 in 2023.