American bully XLs will be banned by end of year – PM

Y O

1 year ago

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said American bully XLs bogs will be banned by the end of the year after a man left in a critical condition after being attacked by two dogs in Staffordshire has died.

Mr Sunak was responding to the latest incident in which a man died after being savaged by two dogs outside a property in Stonnall, Staffordshire, on Thursday afternoon.

Announcing the move, the prime minister stressed the need to end such violent attacks “and keep people safe”.

Saying the American bully XL dogs will be banned by the end of the year, after the work is done to define the breed.

The UK doesn’t currently recognise the American bully XL as a specific breed, the US does.

American bullies are said to have originated in the US in the late 1980s, when American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers were crossed.

They have been crossed with other breeds to create an even more muscular dog and there are four variations: standard, pocket, classic and XL.

According to Bully Watch, a group of London-based policy experts, the breed first appeared in the UK “around 2014 or 2015”, with numbers growing rapidly during the pandemic.

In a video statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, The Tory leader said: “The American XL bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.

“I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw a another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.

“It is clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, it’s a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.

“While owners already have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control, I want to reassure people that we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and protect the public.

“Today I have tasked ministers to bring together police and experts, to firstly define the breed of dog behind these attacks, with the view to then outlawing it.

“It is not currently a breed defined in law, so this vital first step must happen fast.

“We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year.

“These dogs are dangerous, I want to reassure the public that we will take all necessary steps to keep people safe.”