IRISH dog wardens have been issued with bulletproof vests amid a rise in violent attacks from irate pet owners, it has emerged.

Wardens have been given the protective clothing – including in some cases the stab-proof vests associated with gardaí – in a bid to protect themselves from serious injury.

In one incident in Dublin city, a warden was attacked with a chainsaw, illustrating the gravity of the threat posed to the profession.

Donal Moroney, manager of the Ashton Dog Pound which provides services for both Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council, told the Sunday Tribune: "They wear bulletproof vests mainly because of the dangers from the public.

"They are going into exactly the same situations as the gardaí and they are having to back up gardaí in terms of house raids.

"They don't have the power of arrest but they do have the power of seizure and people don't like having their dogs removed."

In Dublin city alone, some 1,500 dogs are seized by the authorities every year, mainly due to their being out in the street. Wardens are also clamping down on those without licences.

"Two of [the wardens] were assaulted in the last week," said Moroney. "One of them was punched in the face, just by a person who had nothing to do with the thing; they just decided to get involved. The other one was punched in the stomach. He was arrested; the other one got away unfortunately.

"They [the attacks] are all too common but they are getting more and more. Dog wardens are instruments of the state and they take their jobs very seriously."

The protective vests were introduced about 18 months ago, Moroney said.

Dogs are seized for offences of ineffectual control by their owners under Section 9 of the Control of Dogs Act.

"The worst incident that happened to one of my own wardens was when a guy came up to him with a chainsaw," Moroney said.

Although it was turned on, the warden escaped the incident without injury.

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown county council, which em­ploys one dog warden, also confirmed the use of a stab vest, stating that it was introduced in 2007 in line with health and safety regulations.

However, not all wardens receive the same level of protection.

South Dublin County Council said that it had not yet felt the need to implement such practices.

"Like in any local authority, you are going to get abuse," a spokeswoman said.

"If [a warden] gets into a situation where they think they are being threatened they go back and get another warden and if they feel it's getting out of hand they leave and contact the gardaí."