XL bully ban repeats past failures, says leading vet

The XL bully ban has failed to prevent fatal attacks on people and may only have repeated past legislative failures, a senior vet has claimed.

Defra officials have defended the law and say work is continuing to explore additional ways of both promoting responsible ownership and reducing incidents of harm.

But IVC Evidensia’s group head of animal welfare David Martin told the London Vet Show that while it was still early days, the initial picture was far from encouraging.

‘Repeated 1991 – again’

He said: “The numbers are not looking good. It does look like we’ve just repeated 1991 – again.”

Legislation outlawing the ownership of non-exempted XL bully dogs came into force at the start of February in England and Wales and from 1 August in Scotland. Similar rules are due to be in place in Northern Ireland from 1 January.

Political leaders across the UK have maintained the measures were necessary on public safety grounds, following a series of fatal attacks linked to the type.

Failed

But critics argue that breed-specific legislation of this kind has already failed to protect the public over more than three decades, while the XL bully ban has been specifically linked to a major surge in cases of mistreatment and abandonment.

The 14 November ExCeL session was told that the number of recorded dog attack deaths had fallen from 15 in 2023 to 8 so far this year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

But Dr Martin said that was based on the dates of inquests and death certificates being issued and the figures based on when incidents occurred actually showed little difference.

He pointed out that the legislation had failed to prevent fatal attacks in private homes, where requirements relating to muzzling and keeping dogs on leads are not in force.

Large dogs

And he also referred back to his own warning at last year’s show of the increased potential for large dogs that were not being properly exercised to be responsible for attacks.

While he acknowledged that trend had still to be established, he argued: “It’s [the ban] done nothing for fatal dog attacks and I suspect it may be at risk of making them worse.”

In response to his comments, a Defra spokesperson said: “The ban on XL bullies is an important measure to protect public safety, and we expect all XL bully owners to comply with the strict conditions.

“We continue to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to prevent dog attacks by encouraging responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog.”

Additional measures

She also insisted the department was working “at pace” to explore additional measures and data collection improvements and would do “its utmost” to reduce risks.

However, she declined to say whether there were any current plans for a broader review of the Dangerous Dogs Act, in line with previously reported pledges on the issue.

Meanwhile, Dr Martin further warned that, while the prices for XL bullys had collapsed as a result of the ban and increased police interest in them, other larger and more aggressive breeds were starting to be seen amid the continuing demand for so-called “status dogs”.

He said: “Status dogs have not gone away. Status dogs are coming back.”

Delegates were also told of a growing problem of puppies being dumped because of the collapse in the sales market, which boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic.