AURORA, Colo. -- More than 150 dogs have been destroyed in Aurora since the breed ban started in February.

Aurora banned new pit bulls and several other breeds as of Feb. 1. Owners who already had the animals were allowed to keep them if they paid a registration fee and met several other requirements.

Aurora has euthanized an average of more than three pit bulls dogs a day, or 166 from Feb. 1 to March 20, according to the Aurora Sentinel.

That number of euthanizations is double the city average.

Last year, the Aurora animal shelter had to kill 922 dogs -- more than half of those were pit bulls or one of the other breeds restricted under the ban -- making it an average of 1.5 of the dogs being put down each day, said Cheryl Conway, Aurora's animal care spokeswoman.

"That's gross," said Sonya Dias, an organizer of the Pit Bull Band, a group that protested against the ban.

"How many of these dogs were aggressive or were dangerous? And how many were just good family pets? I think it's sad. Government action based on fear and not on human and animal safety experts," Dias told the paper.

Pit bull owners in Aurora obtained permits for 477 pit bulls in the months leading up to the ban's enforcement, and most of the euthanized dogs appear to be strays, officials said. Animal care officials said only 46 tickets for violating the ban were issued to dog owners during the same time period.

Nancy Sheffield, Aurora's director of neighborhood services, said she gets about 400 complaints from people who believe one of their neighbors has unregistered pit bulls.

Similarly, between May 9, 2005, when Denver began enforcing that city's pit bull ban, and March 20, Denver Animal Control euthanized 891 pit bulls, Dias said.