XL Bully dog owners in the North East reminded of new ban
The ban comes into effect from the end of this month
Owners of XL Bully dogs in the North East are being reminded that the new ban comes into place at the end of this month.
The Government announced back in October that the breeds would be added to the list of those banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
From 31st December, it will be illegal to breed, sell, exchange, advertise, rehome, gift, abandon or allow a XL Bully dog to stray. These dogs must also be muzzled and on a lead when in public.
It will also be a criminal offence to own a XL Bully in England and Wales from 1st February next year, unless the owner has a certificate of exemption.
Mark Gent, Chief Inspector of the RSPCA in Durham and Cleveland, said: "It's a worrying time for people in the North East with the situation we've got. I'd advise everyone to get Defra website and make sure they're doing the things they need to do before the ban comes into play, because obviously there's a lot of things that need to be done between now and January.
"I think people need to start immediately now doing that background work in relation to making sure that they're abiding by the law before the ban comes into place. We want responsible owners to look after their dogs and have them be on the exemption list and then everything will be absolutely fine. What we don't want is people walking around with dogs that are potentially a banned breed and having them seized by the police.
"I think there's concern because legistlation itself changes things. What we need to be careful of is sometimes it's not the dog's fault, it can be the owner's as much as the dog, but the legisltation's there and it needs to be adhered to."
Colin Dobson, Licensing Manager at Darlington Borough Council, said: "The certificate of exemption they need to apply for that. It's not just suddenly going to happen on the 1st of February, they need to apply for that in plenty of time. Part of that is obtaining public liability insurance and there's also requirement for the dogs to be neutered and again, those things aren't things that can be done immediately but planned for."
"It was brought in by the Goverment for public safety reasons but we also have to consider animal welfare. What we don't want to see if abandoned dogs as the police and dog wardens are going to have to deal with that. It's about the welfare of the animal but primarily it's about public safety and that's the reason why the ban was brought in."
A certificate of exemption is a Government registration scheme that will allow you to keep your XL Bully dog subject to certain conditions.
More details about this about the new legislation can be found on the Government website.