This week a 10 year old girl was savagely attacked by an unregistered American Bully XL. Earlier this year, a grandmother was killed within her grandson’s home – mauled to death by two unregistered American Bullies kept by her grandson’s father. He later said he had once thought the ban was “stupid”, but now realised the dogs were dangerous – reflecting on what danger his son was in, he said Bullies should be “wiped out”.
Since the beginning of this year it has been illegal to breed, sell, trade or otherwise transfer ownership of Bully XL’s. All Bullies are to be registered, neutered, as well as leashed and muzzled in public. The ban ensures that the breed does not continue in Britain – that we do not have to endure many more generations of a breed constructed from fighting stock and inbred repeatedly for greater sizes and strength.
A uniquely dangerous breed, responsible for the majority of deaths from dog attacks in the last few years, despite comprising well under 1 per cent of the total UK dog population. Around 60,000 XL Bullies were registered and thus permitted to be kept by owners, under these strict conditions. However, there are an unknown number of XL Bullies unregistered, in defiance of the ban.
The ban protects the public at large from the risk from American Bullies, requiring these disproportionately dangerous dogs to be kept on a leash and muzzled in public. We should not have to face a world in which a dog rampages through a city street, attacking a child and several adults – as we saw last year in Birmingham.
Owners of other dogs no longer have to face the threat of a Bully XL ripping apart their dog, nor do parents have to fear an attack in play-parks as we saw last summer. Indeed the majority of serious attacks since the ban have been within the home – a marked change from the pattern of attacks before the ban – showing that the public at large are now being protected from these inherently aggressive dogs.
As these more recent attacks show, however, the ban could never have protected those owners that have decided to keep their Bully XLs. This is not a risk I would advise, but it is a risk they have chosen to take. However, protecting the public requires that these owners follow the rules, and where they do not, that the ban is enforced.
Labour was the first political party in the UK to back the calls for a ban (before the last government announced they would enact it). The new Labour government, to give them credit, have been strong and consistent in their support. But more than simple support is needed.
If a member of the public sees an unmuzzled, unleashed Bully XL running through a playground (as I have in recent months) – they need to know who to contact, and how fast to expect a response. Police must be empowered to act, the Crown Prosecution Service must ensure convictions are brought, and successful prosecutions must be communicated clearly to the public – so those that do not abide by the ban are aware of the severity.
The ban must also be protected against the lobbying of major, misguided, charities and the legal actions of activists.
Currently, the RSPCA and Dogs Trust continue to oppose the ban. The RSPCA campaign continued even whilst their own RSPCA dog insurance refused to insure American Bullies. Though the Dogs Trust campaigned against a ban, after several attacks from rehomed Bullies, as well as attacks on staff within Dogs Trust rehoming centres, the Dogs Trust stopped rehoming Bully XLs months before the ban came in.
Simultaneously, grandstanding activists have launched a lengthy and costly judicial review, attempting to stop the ban. They continue to advocate for these dogs to be back on Britain’s streets. A Labour MP recently offered their support. Activists have taken steps such as “smuggling” XL Bullies into Scotland (before a ban was announced there) – several of these smuggled Bullies went on to commit serious attacks on Scottish residents. Similar exercises were carried out with Northern Ireland and Ireland. There has been a concerted effort from activists to confound, avoid or get around the ban, often with serious consequences for unsuspecting members of the public.
The government must resist the calls of activists, and misguided, hypocritical charities – they must instead enforce the ban and protect the public. Polls showed that the XL Bully ban was one of the most popular pieces of legislation brought in by the last Government – just 19 per cent of the UK said they opposed the XL Bully Ban – and is overwhelmingly supported by the public, who have had enough of an exceptionally dangerous breed attacking unprovoked and at random on our streets.
Finally, it must be said. The registration of Bully XLs does not protect owners from their own dogs; nor was the ban designed to do so. Sadly, horrifying attacks, such as that this year of one woman who was torn apart in her home by the two Bullies she had raised from puppies, will continue in the homes of those that choose to keep and register their dogs. In choosing to own a breed bred for violence, owners must face the consequences of the risk they take, but the public should not have to bear the brunt of this risk ever again.