PICTURES of a terrier-type dog with duct tape seemingly clamping its nose and mouth shut have sparked outrage.

The images were taken by Brighton resident Lesley Wickenden, who spotted the dog-owner, a man apparently aged in his 30s, with his animal outside the Lidl supermarket in Arundel Street, Whitehawk.

She approached the man, according to her Facebook post, and asked him why his dog had duct tape wrapped around its snout.

Ms Wickenden was told the dog’s muzzle was broken and that it had nearly bitten its owner. She added in her post that the dog owner said police had advised he use rope and duct tape until he had a new muzzle.

Ms Wickenden said: “The dog was very friendly and on a greenish lead. I told him if the dog was kept on the lead there was no place for the tape.”

Ms Wickenden, concerned for the dog’s welfare, called the police and the RSPCA.

Her post on Facebook sparked an angry, at times unprintable backlash from dog-lovers, some of whom thought the tape had been applied directly to the animal’s fur.

Asher Naylor commented: “This makes me angry. I have the same dog. This needs to be sorted!”

Nicola Tulloch said: “Disgusting way to treat a dog.”

Bev Bassett added: “Common sense tells you this is not the right thing to do.”

Others said the owner should not be allowed to have a dog.

The Facebook post was shared almost 1,100 times.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “We received a number of calls from people last Friday (Sep 30), after they had seen the images of the dog online.

“We shared the public’s concerns and an RSPCA inspector visited the man on Saturday morning (Oct 1), and they assured our officer that it had only a temporary measure after his dog’s original muzzle broke while he had been out visiting his mother.

“The RSPCA provided the man with a new muzzle for his dog and advised him to purchase a new one so that it can be properly fitted.

“We are satisfied that this will not be repeated.”

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