Over 4,500 XL bullies seized a year on from ban, as police chiefs warn of 'huge cost' of housing dangerous dogs

29 January 2025, 00:03

Police have seized over 4,500 XL bullies since the ban came in a year ago - and chiefs are now warning of the huge extra cost that means for their forces.

Kennel spaces for dangerous dogs seized by police are already reaching capacity, with costs nearly tripling over the past year in comparison to six years previously.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said vet bills and the cost of kennelling banned breeds had risen from £4 million in 2018 to more than £11 million between February and September 2024, adding it can cost around £1,000 a month to keep an XL bully in kennels.

The NPCC said the figure is expected "to rise to as much as £25 million" for the period from February 2024 to April 2025 - representing a predicted 500% increase in police costs from 2018.

Since February, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets will be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted.

Read more: XL Bullies have created a 'new burden on policing' as forces have to look after dogs waiting for court hearings

Read more: Police force apologises to family after putting down pet XL bully by mistake

New dangerous dogs law is a 'burden' for police

As well as the XL bully, other banned types of dog under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 include the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Brasileiro.

Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, the NPCC's lead for dangerous dogs, said the ban was placing "a huge burden on policing".

The police officer added: "We are facing a number of challenges in kennel capacity, resourcing and ever-mounting costs, and as of today we have not received any additional funding to account for this.

"We urgently need the Government to support us in coping with the huge demand the ban has placed on our ever-stretched resources."

Mr Hobrough said conversations were "ongoing with Defra" but there was no formal agreement "whereby any funding has come into any police force to account for these additional demand factors".

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Speaking at a media briefing to mark one year since the ban came into force, Mr Hobrough said a "huge amount of dogs" had been reported to police over the last year.

Police forces seized 4,586 suspected Section 1 banned dogs throughout England and Wales between February and September 2024.

According to the NPCC, there were 120 dog liaison officers across England and Wales before the ban, with 100 subsequently trained, and a further 40 to be trained.

Mr Hobrough said this meant "in some areas established dog handlers have been called away from other policing duties".

The NPCC said around £560,000 had been spent by police forces on staff overtime between February and September last year in relation to dogs.

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The Chief Constable of Gwent Police added: "We have had to purchase additional vehicles, equipment and find countless extra kennel spaces from the finite that are available within the industry."

He said changes to legislation would be "beneficial", as it currently gives police forces "just one route" through the court system to deal with dog owners.

The NPCC said it was "aware of court cases not being scheduled until mid-2026" for some dangerously out of control dog cases.

Mr Hobrough told the PA news agency: "What would be helpful would be if we had alternative methods of dealing with people who were in possession of such dogs.

"I think all of us would agree that an unscrupulous dog breeder keeping their dog in abhorrent conditions - using practices such as ear cropping, artificial insemination and keeping them in squalid conditions - they should definitely be going through a court system.

"But an individual, who maybe inadvertently came into a dog that unknowingly they thought was not exempt, if they were of good character and compliance, could potentially benefit from being dealt with outside of a court system."

The police officer said existing legislation did not give police forces the ability to apply for "cost recompensation in any shape or form", adding that there needed to be a "focus on responsible dog ownership".

Discussing the introduction of the ban, Mr Hobrough said there had been a "real requirement for action" to address the "increasing problem of XL bullies".

He added: "We actively encourage people to report dogs that they're concerned about within their communities, so that we can take the appropriate action."

Mr Hobrough said he was "sure" the number of attacks by XL bullies would "decline over time" because it was no longer in the interest of organised crime groups to produce them.

NPCC tactical lead Superintendent Patrick O'Hara said he did not think all XL bullies were automatically dangerous, but they had the "propensity" to be by their "sheer size and power".

Speaking at the briefing, Mr O'Hara added: "In the right hands, with the right socialisation, with a really responsible owner, a lot of those dogs will never come to notice."

The NPCC said forces in England and Wales seized and euthanised 848 dogs between February and September 2024 at an estimated cost of £340,000.

These were dogs which were surrendered to police by owners who had not complied with the ban, nor taken advantage of the compensation scheme.