Hundreds of people in Dundee, Tayside and Fife have rejected calls for Staffordshire Bull Terriers to be added to the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Animal rights group Peta had controversially urged ministers to add Staffies to the list of dangerous dogs, meaning it would be illegal to breed a dog of the species.

Peta hoped Staffies and other Pit Bull-type dogs would be added to the list of dangerous dogs because “it’s what’s best for dogs”.

They claimed: “Pit-bulls type dogs, in particular, are the most abused, most frequently abandoned, and most often euthanised breed on the planet.

“Appropriate breed-specific protection legislation outlaws the breeding of these dogs and is designed to safeguard them from homelessness and abuse. This is why we’re in favour of it – with the caveat, of course, that any existing dogs be well cared for and protected.”

Now, a petition countering the motion has reached more than 58,000 signatures.

Of those signatures, 534 are from the area.

In Dundee 185 people from the West and East constituency have pledged support for the petition.

The Angus area has 126 people supporting the right to keep Staffies off the list, while 127 people in the Perth and North Perthshire constituency and 97 people in Fife put their names forward.

The petition, started by Steven Quinn, says: “People create dangerous dogs, people are the problem.”

It adds that Staffies are “loving, loyal and caring” dogs and “it would be a terrible tragedy for the dog lovers of the UK to lose the right to own one of these great companions.”