XL Bully ban: Cambridgeshire charity fearful for owners
It's calling for the government to rethink the ban
An animal charity in Cambridgeshire believes a ban on XL Bullies will only make life tougher for themselves and dog owners.
This week, a government ban came into force which made it illegal to own an XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless it's registered for an exemption certificate.
Owners also need to make sure they're complying with rules around breeding, selling, walking and micro-chipping XL Bully dogs.
Failure to comply with these regulations may result in legal repercussions, such as criminal charges.
Woodgreen Pets Charity in Godmanchester is one member of the Dog Control Coalition, a group of organisations which oppose the ban.
The Coalition also aims to reduce the impact minimise the impact of this legislation on responsible dog owners, behaviourally sound dogs and on veterinary professionals and their teams.
Linda Cantle is director of operations at Woodgreen:
"It's emotionally challenging for our team and it's logistically challenging as well; there's a huge amount of demand for our services regardless of breed type and species," she said.
"This ban comes at an incredibly hard time for rescue, the pet sector and pet owners; it (the ban) only exacerbates the problem.
"We hope that the government will look at how they can make this more accessible for people."
'Significant number of calls' continue to pile in
The new law sits alongside rules from the end of December, which means XL Bullies have to be muzzled and on a lead when out walking.
In December, the Dog Control Coalition wrote an open letter to the government calling for a delay to the initial XL Bully ban.
Some of the concerns raised included the ban not leaving enough time for owners to prepare, not enough communication on what the ban entails and demand on vets to ensure dogs are compliant with the rules.
Ms Cantle said since the end of October, Woodgreen has continued to receive a "significant number of calls" with some relating to giving up XL Bullies.
"There's a lot of anxiety; there are also probably people that own dogs that potentially meet this type but have no idea and obviously they're at risk of falling outside of the law, and that's a real concern for us," she added.
"We're concerned the ban will not keep people safe; we'd urge the government to talk to Woodgreen and other organisations within the Dog Control Coalition to take advice on how best to keep the public and our pets safe."
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay MP has said the government will continue to work closely with bodies such as police and animal welfare groups following the law change.