Councils pick up 11 strays an hour

The charity estimates 96,892 dogs were taken in by councils in the UK in 2007 - the equivalent of 11 an hour. Its Stray Dogs Report said an estimated 6,710 of them were destroyed for want of a home, or because of ill-health or aggression.

While the number of stray dogs is lower than in previous years, Dogs Trust chief executive Clarissa Baldwin said the figure was still far too high and showed pets were being treated as "throwaway commodities".

The Dogs Trust is urging people who are looking for a new dog to visit their local rescue centre and consider re-homing a stray - rather than splashing out on a "retail rover".

Research by GfK NOP on behalf of the trust and based on responses by 80% of the UK's 432 local authorities found the number of stray dogs picked up had fallen by an estimated 8% on the previous year.

The number of dogs put to sleep dropped 15%, although one was destroyed every 80 minutes, according to the Dogs Trust. But 30% of strays were reunited with their owners because of microchips implanted in the animal which contain details of its owner.

Mrs Baldwin said: "This is the first year that the number of stray dogs has dropped below 100,000. But this is still far too high a figure - it's 6,000 more than the number of seats at Wembley. For a nation of so-called animal lovers, it is unacceptable that pets are being treated as throwaway commodities. Dog ownership is a privilege, not a right."

She said the Dogs Trust ran campaigns on education, neutering and microchipping to try and address the problem, and the number of stray dogs had dropped gradually in the past 10 years.

"However, the onus remains on owners to accept their responsibility. Get your dog neutered and microchipped and ensure he is wearing an ID tag so that if he is lost he can be reunited with you more easily," she said.

The Dogs Trust, which never destroys a healthy dog in its care, looks after 16,000 dogs a year through its network of 17 rehoming centres.