ARMED police are using weapons more than once a day in Gloucestershire, new figures show.
But the rise in incidents in armed responses is believed to be down to the use of taser electric stun weapons.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that in 2010 there were 88 incidents officers attended with firearms, then 271 in 2011 and 406 in 2012. So far this year, there have been 136 incidents, including the shooting of a dog which savaged sheep.
And armed officers swooped on Gloucester city centre in June when police were alerted to a man allegedly threatening to kill another – that was after officers mistakenly wrestled a man to the ground outside a pasty shop, who it turned out had nothing to do with the incident.
Over the three-and-a-half year period, no officers have been fired at.
There have been six incidents involving animals and of those, two resulted in the deaths of dogs.
Farmer David Barnes, from Clifford's Mesne, fled from a six-stone dog which charged towards him and his young grandchildren after it killed nine of his sheep in June.
He said the armed officers dealt with the Bernese mountain dog well, although the animal was found alive the next day.
"They arrived and did what they could," he said.
"They were very professional."
A Gloucestershire police spokesman said: "It's important to stress that the figures from 2011 onwards include callouts for taser armed officers, so a substantial proportion of the total number will relate to those.
"Firearms trained teams perform a vital role in helping keep our communities safe and the resource is vital for reducing risk for the officers and the public."
There are two areas where police officers may have a duty to destroy an animal – when it represents a danger to lives or property, or if the animal is in such a condition that it must be destroyed to avoid unnecessary suffering, and no veterinary surgeon or licensed slaughterer is available.