An investigation spearheaded by a Keighley-based international veterinary group has produced new findings on the number of wolf dogs in the UK.

The report, by the International Zoo Veterinary Group and commissioned by the Government, is now being scrutinised by the Department of Education, Transport and the Regions.

The probe examined the animals' genes and DNA in a bid to find a method of identifying them. It was sparked last year by a number of controversial court cases involving the breeding and ownership of wolf/dog hybrids.

There had been a number of breeders in the UK claiming to sell such puppies at between £500 and £600. The animals must be licensed under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, 1976.

Research assistant, Penny Cusdin, said: "The document will eventually become a public document."

She said she could not give details until publication but broadly the research revealed there were fewer wolf dogs in Britain than suspected.

"The public perception is that there are a lot for sale because of adverts in the papers. But many of them are ordinary mongrels.

"These animals don't have a pedigree so there is no way of tracing their heritage. People are being duped," she said.

She said the work involved compiling a census of the dogs by contacting local authorities and then following up the animals' history. And anyone who claimed to be keeping such animals in the home was suspect as a wolf could not be kept indoors.

"In the USA animals like this have been reported to have eaten everything in the home - eaten sofas and walls - they wreck everything," she said.