Gareth Davies MP has strongly backed the plan announced today by the Government to ban American XL Bully dogs following a series of horrific attacks across the country.
The Environment Secretary, Therese Coffey MP, will urgently convene experts to define the American XL Bully breed type in the coming weeks. This is a vital first step towards adding it to the list of dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act, and this expert group will include police, canine and veterinary experts, and animal welfare stakeholders.
Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, a definition of the American XL Bully breed type needs to be specified – including clear assessment criteria for enforcement authorities – in order to impose a ban. The Government must then lay a Statutory Instrument to add it to the list of dogs banned under the Act. This will make it an offence to own, breed, gift or sell an XL Bully. We will do this by the end of the year.
To safely manage the existing population of these dogs, there will be a transition period, and further details on how the transition period will work will be provided in due course. Current XL Bully dog owners do not need to take any action at this stage, however, if XL Bully owners do not come forward during the transition period, they will be committing a criminal offence if they are subsequently found to be keeping one of these dogs.
Owners whose dogs are dangerously out of control are already breaking the law, and under the Dangerous Dogs Act, they could be imprisoned for up to 14 years, be disqualified from ownership, or their dangerous dogs can be euthanised.
Further detail on next steps for developing a ban and information for owners will be provided in due course via the Government website.
