Campaigners back in court as XL bully ban battle continues

Tens of thousands of responsible owners are suffering “for the actions of a few” because of the XL bully ban in England and Wales, campaigners have claimed.

A two-day hearing took place at the Royal Courts of Justice this week, after the Don’t Ban Me Licence Me group won permission to seek a judicial review of the legislation in the spring.

A ruling is not expected for some time and Defra has warned the owners of exempted dogs must continue to comply with the legislation’s conditions.

Exemption certificates

But the department’s own figures show more than 57,000 exemption certificates were issued in connection with the ban, which fully came into force at the start of February.

Speaking ahead of the hearing, Don’t Ban Me founder Sophie Coulthard said those owners had had their lives “tipped upside-down” by the ban.

She said: “Responsible owners with good family pets that have never shown aggression have had to follow the law and abide by the restrictions to keep their dog safe.

“They are paying the consequences for the actions of a few.

“We recognise that there is a problem with dogs in the UK and we believe attacks will continue to rise unless the Government looks into an effective solution, rather than a knee-jerk ban on a type of dog.”

‘Public safety measure’

A Defra spokesperson described the ban as a public safety measure and said the department expects “all XL bully owners to comply with the strict conditions”.

She added that it was working with police, council and welfare groups to “encouraging responsible dog ownership, making sure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and using the full force of the law where needed”.

But she also insisted it was also “working at pace to explore further measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog”.