How half of all XL bully dogs in Britain are descended from ‘notorious’ LA fighting dog ‘Killer Kimbo’

15 September 2023, 08:57 | Updated: 15 September 2023, 15:30

Half of XL bully dogs in Britain are descendants of an inbred pet from the US linked to multiple deaths and violent incidents, it has emerged.

Genealogy research carried out by researchers from BullyWatch, a campaign group, say that dogs related to an infamous animal called ‘Killer Kimbo’ are responsible for at least 10 violent incidents worldwide.

The group looked at the animal’s bloodline - and found that Killer Kimbo is related to around half of the dogs of this breed in the UK.

Kimbo’s offspring were named ‘Unstoppable Juggernaut’ and Niko.

Juggernaut became a popular breeding dog for the UK, lauded by breeders for its musculature and height. Niko meanwhile - a direct descendant, was responsible for mauling a four-year-old to death in Louisiana in 2014.

The next generation led to the arrival of dogs named Cookie Doe and Frank Sinatra. Cookie Doe killed its owner’s father, Kevin Jones, in Wrexham in May 2022.

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The research highlights how decades of inbreeding has led to a narrow gene pool of dogs that can be traced back to the one ‘killer’ pet.

Kimbo earned ‘legendary’ status in the breeding community because of its size and strength.

The dog’s breeder grew up in the Huntington Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles.

Gloria Zsigmond, a UK-based scientist and campaigner for BullyWatch, told the Telegraph that more than half of a sample of 50 stud dogs advertised online were descendants of Kimbo.

Her research shows that of the 50 breeding dogs, 32 were related to Kimbo.

“A lot of the time, the Bully breeders are trying to hide how inbred the dogs are,” she told The Telegraph.

She found that one stud from Croydon is related to Kimbo on both sides of its family, while another in South London has Frank Sinatra as both its maternal and paternal grandfather.

Breeding XL bullies is now a multi-million pound industry with some of the best examples of the breed selling for many thousands of pounds. The best dogs are also rented out for thousands of pounds as stud dogs by ‘backyard breeders’ who sell the puppies on social media.

So far this year, almost half of injuries from UK dog attacks were by the breed, which make up about 1 per cent of the UK’s dog population.