Hundreds of XL Bullies to be put down by end of the year as ban comes into effect

25 November 2023, 19:11 | Updated: 26 November 2023, 00:05

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Hundreds of XL Bully dogs will be put down when a ban of the breed comes into effect at the end of 2023.

At least 246 XL Bully dogs live in centres run by various animal charities, including the RSPCA and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and are at risk of being destroyed, Sky reports.

A ban announced by the government will mean XL Bully dogs cannot be rehomed or sold after December 31, 2023, following a series of dog attacks by the breed in recent months.

This means that dogs being kept in rescue centres across England and Wales will be destroyed unless they are rehomed before that date.

Earlier this year, LBC reported that American XL Bully dog has been put up for sale online for just £25 after the government announced the breed had been officially added to the banned list in England and Wales.

An advert seen by LBC shows that the 14-month-old male XL Bully dog was put up for sale for the small amount yesterday, which is when the Government officially announced that the breed had been officially banned.

The KC registered dog is described as being "very friendly" with a "good temperament" on the Pets4Homes online advert.

While the breed is officially on the banned list in England and Wales, it is still legal to sell the dog until the end of the year.

There are as many as 15,000 XL Bully dogs that will be affected by the new criteria once the sale and breeding ban officially comes into force, the former Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey previously told LBC.

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From 31 December 2023 breeding, selling, advertising, rehoming, abandoning and allowing an XL Bully dog to stray will be illegal, the government announced on Tuesday.

Also from 31 December 2023 XL Bully dogs must be muzzled and on a lead in public.

From February 1 2024 it becomes a criminal offence to own one unless it is on a list of exempted dogs.

There is a longer deadline for owners to ensure existing animals are neutered and microchipped.

The ban on XL Bully dogs was announced back in September following a slew of dangerous dog attacks.

A man previously told LBC he was an attacked by an XL Bully and its owner after he asked for the dog to be put on its lead in public.

Ben Francis Cźyżyk says he came across a "very vicious dog" and its owner at around 11pm on Friday night in a park in Wolverhampton.

Feeling threatened, Ben asked the owner to put his dog on its lead, which he says prompted the owner to tell his dog to "attack".

"I had never met this person before and when I asked for him to leash his dog, him and his dog attacked me," Ben told LBC.