Suella Braverman Moves To Ban American XL Bully Dogs
11 Sep 2023
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said she is seeking “urgent advice” into the banning of American XL bully dogs in the UK.
Calling them a “clear and lethal danger” the Home Secretary made the announcement following after an attack on an 11-year-old girl in Birmingham.
The full tweet reads: “This is appalling. The American XL Bully is a clear and lethal danger to our communities, particularly to children,”
“We can’t go on like this. I have commissioned urgent advice on banning them.”
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) have been called on to add the breed to the banned list following a number of recent attacks and deaths by American XL bully.
Two XL bully dogs were shot dead earlier this month after killing 22 pregnant sheep in North Wales.
Jack Lis, a 10-year-old boy, was also mauled to death by an American Bully XL dog at a house in Caerphilly in 2021.
However actually adding the dogs to the banned list remains a challenge, with the dog not recognised as a specific breed by the Royal Kennel Club, the UK’s largest organisation for breeding and welfare.
Former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland echoed support of the ban saying: “I am deeply concerned by the rise of attacks on people, pets and livestock by bully XL dogs . The government should take action and ban these dogs.”