XL Bully dogs officially banned from today
People across Cumbria had until midday yesterday to register their dog.
Registration for exemption certificates for XL Bully dogs needed to be completed by 12pm on the 31st of January.
From today it will be a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog in England and Wales, unless your dog has a valid Certificate of Exemption.
The first stage of the XL Bully ban came into force on 31 December 2023 meaning the breed was added to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
This means it is now an offence to:
❗ sell an XL Bully dog
❗ abandon an XL Bully dog or let it stray
❗ give away an XL Bully dog
❗ breed from an XL Bully dog
❗ have an XL Bully in public without a lead or muzzle
Since 31 December 2023, you can legally have your XL Bully in public provided that:
🔹 a muzzle is securely fitted, sufficient to prevent your dog from biting any person, and
🔹 the dog is on a lead being held securely by a person no less than sixteen years of age.
Tilly and Hulk
When the ban was initially announced Tilly Anderson in Egremont was not an XL bully owner.
She decided early December though that she wanted to help rehome one before that became illegal, and travelled several hours down south to pick up 'Hulk'.
She took with her her other two dogs to see how Hulk interacted, and was soon satisfied that the trio got on well, leading to her taking Hulk home.
Since then Tilly says he's become a member of the family: "I just want to show what a good boy he is.
"We decided to rehome one when we seen there was thousands and thousands of them looking for homes. There wasn't enough people willing to take them in.
"They would have been getting put to sleep if they didn't find one by the end of December.
"We found one that came from a family home to fit in with our family, and we did.
"We were worried about our other dogs, but they play constantly. He sits really well with both dogs, they are all so good together.
"Kids wise, all the kids love him, he's brilliant with them and is so gentle. He's so patient. I've no concerns.
"We've started with a bit of muzzle training, he's taken to it so well. We expected him to be trying to take it off but he didn't, he's been absolutely fine.
"Some people are put off by him though when your out but I think it's more to do with the muzzle. He is a big dog. The muzzle makes him look scary though, if I saw a dog with a muzzle on it would make me feel a bit intimidated.
"It's obviously just what we've got to do now though."
When discussing the registration process with the government though, Tilly said it was not made clear.
"It could have been made massively more clear.
"All the different rules came in on different dates. I thought the muzzles came in on the first of January, so nearly took him on a last walk without one on the 31st, but someone said no it starts on the last day of December.
"I know it's not a big deal but these one day slip ups could make a big difference"