Fear that more XL bully dogs will be abandoned due to 'lack of clarity' from government
Two XL bully's were reportedly found dead in a canal near Wigan
Last updated 27th Nov 2023
The Dogs Trust have said its 'heartbreaking to see dogs being abandoned' as the uncertainty continues over the XL bully dog ban.
They're now calling for the government to release more information and clarity to ease any of the publics concerns and to stop more dogs from being abandoned or killed.
The Prime Minister said last month that they would be banned by the end of this year, following a series of serious attacks across the country.
They will be the latest breed to be added to the list of dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
The government said on announcing the plan to ban the breed that:
"Further details on the next steps for developing a ban and information for owners will be provided in due course."
However, with less than 12 weeks to go until 2023 ends, no further information has been released.
At the weekend, two bully dogs were reportedly found dead in the Leeds-Liverpool Canal near Astley, leading to fears that dog owners might start to panic and abandon their XL Bully dogs
The Dogs Trust have questioned the government's plan to have this ban in place by the end of the year.
George Bloor, Head Of Operations (North), Dogs Trust, said:
"Since the Dangerous Dogs Act has come into force in 1991, dog bites have gone up, not down, so it clearly isn't working. And the question is then what needs to change?
"We're calling on government as Dogs Trust to reform that legislation and to introduce something which doesn't focus so much on the individual dog, the look of a dog, but instead looks at how likely is it that that dog would be aggressive irrespective of the breed?
"The data suggests that there is no one breed that is more likely to be likely to be aggressive"
"Consider the practicalities of the ban. If we assume tens of thousands of dogs are likely to be part of this, each one of those has to be physically assessed. If you add the number of hours required alone, how long does that take and we're talking about not even 12 weeks.
"Then you've got to store that data. Then you've got to get the owners to comply with it.
"We think it's untenable to deliver that by the end of the year. And if it is tried and if they try to deliver this by the end of the year, the reality is we will have a hodgepodge of issues across the UK instead of something which does what it should do, protect the public and stop dog bites."
Amid the fear of more dogs being abandoned, Mr Bloor is urging XL bully owners 'not to panic.'
"We do not know a significant amount more about this ban yet because government hasn't released it. But what we do know is that when it comes into effect, there will be an amnesty period and that will allow owners some time to get the the processes in place so that they can continue to own their dogs.
"So that's really important when you see these cases of abandonment and in and around Merseyside."
In a statement, a DEFRA spokesperson said:
"The Government is taking urgent action to bring forward the Prime Minister’s commitment to ban XL Bully dog types following a concerning rise in attacks and fatalities, which appears to be driven by this type of dog.
"Current owners of XL bullies do not need to take any action now but Defra officials will continue to deliver this work at pace and we will be setting out next steps shortly."