Stray dogs picked up by Basildon police are shot with a pistol if rehoming efforts fail, it has been revealed.

The "barbaric" form of euthanasia has been condemned by animal campaigners who claim it causes considerable suffering to the animal.

Hounds (Help Our Unwanted Neglected Dogs) insists this method is chosen only because it is cheaper than an injection.

However, police - who use Roseville Kennels in Dunton Road, Billericay - disagree.

Police bosses state the pistol method is just as humane as the needle and say the choice has nothing to do with cost.

At the moment if a Basildon Council dog warden picks up a stray, it is taken to a kennels where, if it is not eventually rehomed or reclaimed, it may be given an injection to end its life.

However, if police pick up a stray or are handed one, then the dog warden is obliged to take the animal to Roseville - the kennel officially used by Basildon police - where it may be shot dead after just seven days.

Pat James, of Hound, said: "This two-tier policy is very worrying. If someone picks up a dog and takes it to the dog warden it goes to a kennels where if a home can't be found, a vet will euthanaise with a lethal injection.

"But if someone takes a dog into any of the local police stations, the dog warden will be called and the animal is taken to Roseville where it could be shot. It is barbaric."

Chief Inspector Mike Smith, of Basildon police, said any dog taken to Roseville became the property of the kennel if it was not claimed within seven days.

He added that "every effort" was made to find homes after that, with euthanasia as a last resort.

Chief Insp Smith said: "We use a humane killer - a .22 round which in most cases enters the brain and kills instantly. There is a very small hole, and a small amount of blood."

Chief Insp Smith pointed out that lethal injections did not always kill instantly, and could cause convulsions.

He added: "While I accept there is a moral debate involving the method of euthanasia, I think the injection is more socially acceptable because it is just a needle. The truth is that death is not immediate - a big dog could take 10 or 15 minutes to die.

"If people looked after the welfare of their own animals better we wouldn't have stray dogs which aren't claimed."

National Canine Defence League spokesman Deana Selby said the organisation's policy was never to put down a healthy dog. She added that if euthanasia was necessary, an injection should be administered by a vet.

An RSPCA spokesman said an injection was the norm, but a humane killer could be used if the animal was particularly aggressive or in distress.

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