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'My wrist was broken by an XL Bully that also killed my dog - but I don't support the ban in Scotland'
11 January 2024, 15:01
A Glasgow woman who was injured by an XL Bully that also killed her dog has told LBC she doesn't support plans to ban the breed in Scotland.
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Sixty-three-year-old Agnes Donaldson's beloved Yorkshire Terrier Milly was also killed in the incident last May which saw her break her wrist in two places.
She needed metal plate surgery and isn't able to move her arm to the same degree as before the attack.
But Agnes said she doesn't support plans announced by Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf on Thursday to replicate the XL Bully ban introduced in England and Wales.
She said: "When it happened I was very distressed and angry and I was shouting for these dogs to get banned.
Read more: XL Bully dogs to be banned in Scotland after influx of breed across the northern border
"But since I've been watching the news on how these dogs have been made to wear muzzles and things, I've started to feel sorry for them because it's not the dogs - it's the owners.
"These dogs are not all bad. It's down to how the owners bring them up.
"Some do bring them up to be aggressive but a lot of owners that I've seen love their dogs and haven't brought them up like that.
"So my view has totally changed.
"It should be made tougher for people to get them and there should be checks and check-ups every six months.
"Just have more of a crackdown on the owners (not a total ban)."
The Scottish government had previously decided not to introduce the same banning rules that have come into force in England and Wales.
But the First Minister told Holyrood on Thursday afternoon they're now having to bring them in due to an influx of the dogs being transported over the border into Scotland.
Mr Yousaf said: "What has become clear, I'm afraid in the last few weeks, is we have seen a flow of XL bully dogs coming to Scotland, a number of people coming to Scotland to bring XL bully dogs here to the country."
"As such, we will give further details to members of the Scottish Parliament through a parliamentary statement if the Parliamentary Bureau agrees next week."
Expert questions why a ban on XL bully dogs doesn't target owners
In England and Wales, XL bully owners have not been able to take their dog out in public since December 31 unless muzzled and on a lead. It is now also illegal to breed, sell or rehome the dogs.
The dogs will then be totally banned from February 1, 2024, unless an owner applies for an exemption. This allows them to keep their pet as long as they are willing to comply with strict conditions requiring them to be neutered by the end of June unless they are younger than one, in which case they must get the operation done by the end of the year.
If owners of the animals do not comply with the new laws, the dogs will need to be put down.
Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene called Mr Yousaf's announcement "a humiliating U-turn", adding that the "First Minister and his colleagues have wasted months playing political games and causing worry, only to now announce they will, rightly, replicate the UK Government’s ban anyway."
He added: "Humza Yousaf’s belated climbdown is welcome, but he has serious questions to answer over why this became a constitutional grievance and why he left it so late to take decisive action."
