Animal welfare officers last night said Bermuda had reached a state of desperation with record numbers of dogs being taken into care, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Government dog wardens are on course to seize the highest number of animals this year, after they took 357 dogs into care during the first six months alone.

And animal charity the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which is not connected to the wardens, said it had four times the usual number of dogs that needed homes, many of them puppies.

Charles Whited, SPCA inspector, said there were so many dogs that needed to be housed, he had a queue of animals waiting to go into the kennels, as well as many dogs that were being temporarily housed at veterinary surgeons.

Many of them are pit bull terriers and pit bull crosses no longer wanted by their owners, or puppies born due to indiscriminate breeding.

Mr. Whited said: "The situation has been getting so bad, we knew it had to come to a head sometime and now that time has arrived.

"We are desperate at the moment. We have more dogs than we can take on and we need to find good homes for them.

"People are just being so thoughtless in the way they treat their dogs. They let them roam the neighbourhood so they end up with puppies that nobody wants.

It's sickening.'' The SPCA's 12 kennels are currently full and one of the dogs housed there has six puppies.

There are 20 unwanted dogs split between veterinary surgeries, and ten puppies waiting to be taken into the kennels by their owners.

Mr. Whited added: "This is the busiest we have ever known. The dogs we have in are really nice animals that could be homed. Obviously we are still going to be cautious about where we let them go, but we do need homes for them.'' These dog figures do not include those currently held at the Government kennels, which are completely separate.

Environment Minister speaks out -- Page 6 Dog wardens under increasing pressure The two wardens have revealed they are already close to last year's total seizure figure of 414 and still have half the year to go.

Three years ago, only 279 dogs were put into the care of the Government wardens following concerns over their welfare or being found stray.

But with tougher laws being introduced on animal control and a growing population of dogs due to indiscriminate breeding, the seizure numbers are just set to climb.

There are about 11,000 dogs in Bermuda, at least half of which are thought to be unlicensed.

About half of the total dog population are pit bulls or pit bull crosses.

There are so many of this type of breed on the Island, they are regularly discarded and treated badly and end up in the care of the Government kennels or the SPCA.

Government vet Johnathan Bissett said it was hard to know why there had been such an increase in seizures or how long it would last.

He said: "It looks like it is going to be a record year.

"After the first six months of this year, we alone were at 357 seizures.

That's a big increase on last year.

"It is difficult to know whether we are in a permanent upswing, or a temporary one. It isn't good, though.

"Normally, the seizure rate slows down in the summer because it is hot and dogs tend to chill out in the trees and not bother anybody, leading to fewer complaints. But this year, it has not slowed down at all.

"We are receiving the same number of calls and complaints as we do during other parts of the year.'' The Royal Gazette revealed last month how the Government dog kennels needed improving and extending to cope with the increased problem of unwanted dogs.

The kennels are currently being extended from a capacity of 12 to 17, but more space is needed to deal with the intake.

Mr. Bissett said, because the seizure rate fluctuated, it was difficult for him and the wardens to estimate how many additional kennels they needed.

But he said 17 was not nearly enough and, along with additional wardens, they needed more space to put confiscated dogs.

The Royal Gazette has reported how too many people on the Island were irresponsible dog owners.

They leave their dogs without food and water tied to trees for hours on end, train them to be people and animal aggressive, organise dog fights and fail to seek medical attention when they are sick.

But vet Andrew Madeiros, who is also chairman of the SPCA, said many of the culprits were school boys.

At a public meeting on the Island's dog problem last Friday, it emerged that the difficulties were not caused by the animals, but their owners instead.

"The people involved with the issues that we are talking about are the same people involved in drug trading, skipping school and breaking and entering,'' he said.

"From my perspective, I believe the largest portion of the problem is related to younger individuals who are possibly less than 20 years old and very often in their teens.

"They aspire to get a dog to boost their image and then get involved in the whole field of dog fighting, breeding and making money. These are the people we have to target.

"We currently have a fairly powerful Dogs Act and the amendments give them more power. The question is, do we have the tools to enforce it?''