Dorset dog shelter inundated with requests to take in XL Bullys
Waggy Tails near Wimborne say a proposed ban is causing owners to panic
A dog rescue near Wimborne has had calls from “all over the country” to take in XL Bullys.
It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the breed would be banned in the UK by the end of the year, following a series of attacks.
In 2023, over a third of recorded dog attacks were by American Bully breeds including the XL Bully, according to the group Bully Watch.
We heard today that some of the dogs being given up were bought in the last six months with people apparently starting to panic about them.
Virginia Roberts from Waggy Tails near Wimborne told us: “The new law will change the whole picture because a lot of people are not going to take on a dog that is classified as a dangerous dog and you have to register and keep muzzled.”
Subsequently, XL Bully’s will likely become ‘long-term residents’ at dog shelters across the country as rehoming these dogs could prove difficult now they’ve got “a stigma got attached to them.”
A lot of the dogs being handed in to Waggy Tails are believed to have been during the Covid pandemic when they were “little cute pups” but have since grown to 40kg adults and people “can’t cope.”
Dogs bought during lockdown also didn’t get the socialisation or training they need and are now starting to cause problems, according to Ms Roberts.
Virginia Roberts told us some other reasons people are giving up their XL Bully: “Sometimes they are starting a family and worry about how it’s going to react to a new baby, etc.
“We had a call this morning from somebody who has been told by their landlord that they are breaching their tenancy agreement because it says they can't keep a dog on the dangerous dogs list.”