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Written question asked by Liam Fox (Conservative) on Thursday, 9 October 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 October 2008. It was answered by Lord Beamish (Labour) on Thursday, 16 October 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Dogs

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military working dogs his Department had in each year since 1997, broken down by type of dog.
Answer

At 1 August 2008, holdings of Military Working Dogs by type were:

Type Total
Patrol Dogs 512
Army/RAF Police 21
Police Dogs 223
Arms and Explosive Search 89
Vehicle Search 35
Drug Detection 8
Multi Purpose Drug Detection 11
Tracker 10
Infantry Patrol 2
Explosive Detection Dog 0
Total 911

This figure is a snapshot in time, and includes those dogs being trained, those in service in the UK and those deployed on operations. It should be noted that the number of holdings may vary weekly according to training input and outflow, together with operational demand. The Ministry of Defence is currently reviewing its holdings of Military Working Dogs to ensure that its holdings meet its requirements.Information for previous years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
480 c1392-3W;480 c1382-3W; 226904
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Armed forces Dogs
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk