3 Apr 2024
The BVA said Scottish ministers’ plans properly balanced protecting dogs’ health and preventing breeding.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Holyrood. Image © Heartland Arts / Adobe Stock
An exemption scheme for XL bully dogs has opened in Scotland ahead of the implementation of its ownership ban this summer.
Owners have been given until the end of July to apply for an exemption certificate before the restrictions are implemented from 1 August.
But the BVA has welcomed the Holyrood administration’s move to fix neutering deadlines on when affected dogs are 18 months old, rather than the 1-year threshold originally fixed in England and Wales.
Initial restrictions on the breed type, including requirements to keep them muzzled and on a lead in public, came into force in February, following controversy over the Scottish Government’s refusal to act earlier on the issue.
Under the new system, which opened on Monday 1 April, owners have until 15 July to submit exemption applications by post and until midnight on 31 July online.
To obtain a certificate, owners are required to have third-party insurance for their dogs, and the animals must also be neutered and microchipped.
Applicants will also be required to pay the same £92.40 fee that was charged to owners in England and Wales during the period of its exemption scheme.
Meanwhile, separate payments of £100 will be available to owners who choose not to keep their dogs to compensate for their loss and to cover euthanasia costs respectively.
A neutering deadline of 31 January 2025 has been set for affected dogs that are 18 months of age or older on 31 July this year.
For younger dogs, owners will have until either 31 January or 1 month after their pet reaches 18 months of age – whichever is later – to complete the procedure and provide confirmatory paperwork.
BVA president Anna Judson said that, while her organisation would continue to call for an overhaul of dangerous dog legislation, the 18-month neutering deadlines struck the “right balance between ensuring the dogs’ health and preventing breeding”.
She added: “The extended deadlines will also help ease the likely pressure on already overstretched vet teams, who will be required to neuter an increased number of dogs.”
Last month, Defra announced it would extend the neutering deadline to 30 June 2025 for dogs aged seven months old or younger on 31 January this year, following calls from the BVA and others including MPs.
