American bully XL ban could lead to more dogs being dumped if vets can’t cope with demands of the policy, rescue centre warns
- ADCH fears rules may lead to ‘postcode lottery’ on vets helping owners
The Government’s new ban could lead to more XL bully dogs being abandoned across the UK if veterinarians are unable to help owners meet the terms of the policy, a charity has warned.
New rules due to come into force on December 31 will make it illegal to breed, sell, advertise, exchange, rehome, abandon or allow XL bully dogs to stray in England and Wales.
It will also be illegal to own an XL bully from February 1 next year unless the animal is on an exempt list, called the Index of Exempted Dogs.
Those who wish to keep their dogs have until the end of January to register them with the exemption scheme or they can choose to have their dog euthanised and apply for compensation.
Owners will be forced to comply with strict rules including the requirement to muzzle them and keep them on a lead in public, but the dogs must also be microchipped and neutered.
But the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) fears the rules may lead to a ‘postcode lottery’ on vets being able to help owners meet the terms, the BBC reported.
The new XL bully ban could lead to more dogs being abandoned across the UK if veterinarians are unable to help owners meet the terms of the policy, a charity has warned (stock photo)
Owners will be forced to comply with strict rules including the requirement to muzzle them and keep them on a lead in public, but the dogs must also be microchipped and neutered (stock photo)
The charity said: ‘We fear that these factors will result in a postcode lottery on helping owners euthanise or neuter their bully XLs, and could increase abandonment rates for owners that have nowhere else to turn.’
At the start of the month, following a Government update on the ban, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home released a statement on behalf of the Dog Control Coalition that expressed concerns over Defra’s definition of an American bully XL type.
READ MORE: Nearly 250 XL Bullies will be put down if not rehomed by end of 2024
The group said: ‘As a coalition of the country’s leading dog welfare and veterinary organisations we…will take time to thoroughly review this, whilst continuing to support owners in any way we can, including offering support and advice.
‘We will also continue to support those working in the animal welfare sector who care for American bully XLs, and the vets who may find themselves asked to euthanise healthy dogs for no other reason than how they look.’
Dogs more than a year old on January 31 must be neutered by June 30 next year, while those less than 12 months old must be neutered by December 31, 2024.
Owners without a certificate of exemption will face a criminal record and an unlimited fine if they are found to be in possession of an XL bully as of February 1, and their dog could be seized.
Then environment secretary Therese Coffey confirmed earlier in the year that she was adding the breed to the list of dogs prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act, adding that ministers have taken ‘quick and decisive action to protect the public from tragic dog attacks’.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has been contacted for comment.
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I own an XL Bully – what do I have to do now?
The UK Government has published advice for owners of XL Bully dogs on what to do next if they want to keep their animals, rehome them, or have them euthanised.
I want to keep my XL Bully
Owners of XL Bully dogs will need to register for a Certificate of Exemption by January 31 2024 – details of how to do this will be made available soon.
It will cost £92.40 and will require owners to buy third-party liability insurance for their animals and microchip their animals; Dogs Trust membership comes with cover for up to £1,000,000.
Dogs less than a year old on January 31 2024 must be neutered by the end of 2024, while older dogs must be neutered by June 30 2024.
The law will require XL Bully dogs to be muzzled and on a leash at all times when in public; Defra suggests starting to train your pet now if it isn’t already comfortable with both.
Owners who don’t register their dogs will face a criminal record, an unlimited fine and the risk of having their dog seized.
I don’t want to keep my XL Bully
Under the new legislation, it will be illegal to rehome, sell or transfer XL Bully dogs from December 31 2023.
Rehoming centres will be required to apply for Certificates of Exemption if they wish to keep dogs to rehome them after this date.
If an owner or animal rescue centre wishes to euthanise an XL Bully dogs they will be able to claim back some of the costs from the government – £200 for private owners, and £100 for rehoming centres.
I breed XL Bully dogs
It will be illegal to rehome, sell, buy, gift and breed XL Bully dogs from December 31 2023 – including allowing an XL Bully to be bred from any other combination of dogs.
It will not be an offence to allow a litter of puppies already conceived to be born – but it will be an offence to sell or rehome them if they are born after that date.
Defra recommends stopping all breeding activity now.
It comes after it was revealed yesterday that hundreds of XL bully dogs will be put down if they’re not re-homed by the the end of the year.
Sky News reported that 246 dogs of this breed are due to be euthanized when the ban comes into force on December 31 – but the ADCH has said this is only half the number of XL Bullies in rescue centres.
The RSPCA said there were ‘already anecdotal reports of dogs being surrendered or abandoned across the rescue sector’.
According to Blue Cross, the total cost to charities to destroy their XL Bullies could exceed £90,000.
As the breed is so large, cremation costs are higher and more drugs are needed to euthanize them – costing between £350 to £400 per dog.
The Government is offering XL Bully owners £200 towards the cost of putting their dog to sleep should they choose to, but Blue Cross told Sky News the compensation ‘will not replace the love and affection of a much-loved family pet’.
Owners of XL Bullies are also required to neuter them by February – something which is putting a lot of strain on rescue charities. Blue Cross has more than 1,000 XL Bullies that it will neuter for their owners.
Its spokeswoman Becky Thwaites told Sky News: ‘If the timeframe for neutering is not extended we will be placed in a position where other preventative work such as vaccinations and routine neutering will have to be stopped.’
The requirements of the ban also mean that XL bully dogs who live in rescue centres run by the RSPCA, Blue Cross, and Battersea Dogs and Cats, and other charities can’t be re-homed once the ban is implemented, and will have to be put down instead.
XL bully owners are now reportedly in a panic and abandoning their pets, or begging vets to change official records to say ‘Staffies’ because they’re worried their dogs will be put down.
Despite rescuers being able to apply for exemptions to keep the breed, the dog would be forced to live its life out in a kennel, which charities say they would never choose for welfare reasons.
Last week, dozens of XL Bully owners held a mass meet up with 62 of their dogs in protest against the government’s decision to outlaw the breed.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the XL bully ban after a spate of violent attacks which left many people injured or dead.
In October, a woman was injured after she was attacked by her own American XL bully in Norfolk.
In September, 52-year-old Ian Price, from Staffordshire, died in hospital after being attacked by two American XL bullies.
Last week, dozens of XL Bully owners held a mass meet up with 62 of their dogs in protest against the government’s decision to outlaw the breed
Hundreds of demonstrators marched in central London last month to protest to XL bully ban
In November last year, Jack Lis, 10, was killed by a American XL bully while at a friend’s house in South Wales. The owners of the dog, Amy Salter and Brandon Haydon, were jailed as a result of the attack.
Owners of the breed have staged protests against the ban, including a march through central London in September, where demonstrators did not take their dogs.
An official definition of the breed has been published by the Government, with features including a ‘heavy, large and broad’ head and a ‘blocky or slightly squared’ muzzle.
It is also described as being ‘heavily muscled’ with a ‘large, blocky body giving the impression of great power for size’, and a glossy, smooth and close coat.
The XL bully joins a list of other banned dogs, including the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, fila Brasileiro and dogo Argentino.
Injuries and deaths after attacks by XL Bully type dogs
Jonathan Halstead, 35
Jonathan Halstead, 35 – January 29, 2020
Jonathan died after a severe neck injury and bites after being attacked in his home in Oldham, Greater Manchester by his pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bronson.
It is believed the dog attacked him when his its owner suffered an epileptic fit.
Jack Lis, 10
Jack Lis, 10 – November 8, 2021
Schoolboy Jack Lis, 10, suffered catastrophic injuries in the mauling by an American XL Bully dog called Beast while visiting a friend’s home in Penyrheol in Caerphilly, Wales on November 8, 2021.
Neighbours and Welsh Ambulance Service paramedics desperately tried to save him but he died at the scene. Armed police destroyed the dog on site.
Adam Watts, 55
Adam Watts, 55 – December 22, 2021
Adam Watts, 55, was attacked at the Juniper Kennels and Cattery in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, near Dundee, and was pronounced dead at the scene on December 22, 2021.
MARCH 21, 2022: Undated family handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of Bella-Rae Birch
Bella-Rae Birch, 17 months – March 21, 2022
Toddler Bella-Rae Birch was attacked by her family’s pet American Bully XL dog when she was just 17 months old.
The vicious dog snatched the child out of her mother’s arms while they were at their home in Blackbrook, St Helens, Merseyside, on March 21 last year.
Keven Jones, 62
Keven Jones, 62 – May 28, 2022
Keven Jones died after he was attacked by an American Bully XL dog in Wrexham, Wales on May 28 last year.
Ambulance workers attempted to save him but they were unable to stop his left leg from bleeding.
Mr Jones was then pronounced dead at his son’s house following the attack.
Joanne Robinson, 43
Joanne Robinson, 43 – July 15, 2022
Mother-of-two Joanne Robinson, 43, was killed by her American Bully XL dog, Rocco, after it ‘turned mad in the extreme heat’ in July last year.
She died at the scene of the attack at home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire while her partner, Jamie Stead, was left with injuries to his hands, stomach and face as he tried to pull the animal off her.
Joanne’s mother Dot, of Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, revealed at the time that Rocco had previously fought with their other dog Lola – and she had warned her daughter to ‘get rid of one of them’.
Ian ‘Wiggy’ Symes, 34
Ian Symes, 34 – August 2022
Ian ‘Wiggy’ Symes, 34, who is understood to have been walking a Bully XL dog himself at a recreation ground in Fareham, Hampshire, died at the scene following a horrific dog attack in August 2022.
His devastated family said he was out dog walking and ‘doing something he loved’ when he died at the field in Fareham, Hampshire.
Ann Dunn, 65
Ann Dunn, 65 – October 3, 2022
Ann Dunn, 65, was found collapsed with ‘catastrophic injuries’ at her Liverpool home she shared with seven dogs on October 3 last year.
She was mauled to death by dogs including an American Bully XL – and had been sent to hospital a year before her death because she had been bitten by a dog.
Shirley Patrick, 83
Shirley Patrick, 83 – December 3, 2022
Widowed grandmother Shirley Patrick, 83, died after being viciously mauled by an XL Bully in her own home.
The retired nurse died in hospital 17 days after suffering ‘life-threatening injuries’ during the ‘hellish’ and ‘violent’ dog attack in Caerphilly, South Wales on December 3 last year.
Jonathan Hogg, 37
Jonathan Hogg, 37 – May 18, 2023
Jonathan Hogg, 37, was mauled to death by an American XL Bully dog after it turned on him while he was looking after it for a friend.
He entered the dogs’ pen when it went for him, leaving bite wounds on his arm, leg and head, an inquest heard.
He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries after the mauling in Leigh, Greater Manchester, on May 18 this year.
Ian Price, 52
Ian Price, 52 – September 14, 2023
On Thursday, September 14, ‘pillar of the community’ Ian Price, 52, was attacked and killed by two ‘devil’ XL Bully dogs after they jumped out of his neighbour’s window in Stonnall, Staffordshire.
Mr Price, from Stonnall, Staffordshire, was attacked and killed by the two dogs which jumped out of a neighbour’s window yards from a primary school. He reportedly died defending his elderly mother from the animals.
The dogs bit him and ripped the clothes from his body leaving him dying in a pool of blood in his boxer shorts in the horror attack just feet from his home.
Ian Langley, 54
Ian Langley, 54 – October 3, 2023
Ian Langley, 54, was set upon on the estate in Sunderland on October 3 this year by an enormous XL Bully dog which grabbed him by the neck as he bent down to pick up his Patterdale terrier pup.
The attack left Mr Langley needing CPR for around 15 minutes as emergency services fought to staunch heavy bleeding from his wounds. However he tragically succumbed to his injuries. His dog survived.
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