Law New legal restrictions on XL Bully dog now in force - It is now illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, and abandon these dogs or let them stray in UK

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New legal restrictions on XL Bully dog now in force​

It is now illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, and abandon these dogs or let them stray.

From:Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP
Published: 31 December 2023

New restrictions on the XL Bully dogs are now in force (31 December) making it a legal requirement for all XL Bully dogs to be kept on a lead and muzzled when in public. It is also illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, abandon or let XL Bully dogs stray from today.

The decision to ban XL Bully dogs was made following a concerning rise in attacks from these dangerous dogs, with 23 people sadly losing their lives after vicious dog attacks in the last three years. XL Bullies have been involved in many of these tragic deaths.

Owners are also being urged to apply to register their current XL Bully dogs, as the Government takes action to safely manage the existing population of the breed. There is only a month left to meet the deadline when the ban comes into force on 1 February.

Owning an unregistered dog after this date will be a criminal offence, with owners who don’t facing a criminal record and an unlimited fine.

Owners who do not want to keep their dogs after this date should take them to a vet to have them put down.

If owners are unsure whether their dog could be classed as an XL Bully, they should check their dog carefully against our guidance and photo examples of XL Bully dogs to help them decide.

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:​

The Prime Minister pledged to take quick and decisive action to protect the public from devastating dog attacks with measures in place by the end of 2023. We have met that pledge - it is now a legal requirement for XL Bully dogs to be muzzled and on a lead in public. It is also now illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, abandon or let XL Bully dogs stray.
All XL Bully owners are expected to comply with the law and we will continue to work closely with the police, canine and veterinary experts, and animal welfare groups, with further restrictions on XL Bully dogs coming into force on 1 February.

The Government has taken a staggered approach to safely manage the existing population of XL Bully dogs, while ultimately banning the breed.

On the 31 October, XL Bully dogs were added to the Dangerous Dogs Act, with owners given two months to prepare for the first stage of the ban.

Since the 3 December [today], it is illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, abandon or let XL Bully dogs stray. All XL Bully dogs must also be kept on a lead and muzzled when in public.

From 1st February all XL Bully dogs which must be registered.

From 30 June, XL Bully dogs over 1 year old must be neutered, this is extended until the 31 December for younger dogs.

Notes to readers:​

• Leading animal welfare organisations including Blue Cross, Dogs Trust, PDSA and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home have developed a range of helpful resources and free online learning opportunities to support owners to muzzle train their dogs.
• To register an XL Bully, owners must hold active public liability insurance for their dog, have had their dog microchipped, and pay the application fee. Owners will also be required to provide proof that their dog has been neutered. This will be by 30 June 2024 for most dogs, and by the end of 2024 for dogs under one-year-old on 31 January 2024.
• Owners who no longer wish to keep their dogs and who arrange for a vet to put them down may apply for compensation towards this. Owners and their vets will need to complete a form to make a claim.
• Owners can access the most up-to-date information on what action they need to take and when on this dedicated page, Prepare for the ban on XL Bully dogs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

If the dog is:​

• less than one year old on 31 January 2024, it must be neutered and evidence received by 31 December 2024
• more than one year old on 31 January 2024, it must be neutered and evidence received by 30 June 2024
• If your dog is already neutered, a vet must confirm this by:
  • 31 December 2024 for dogs less than one year old on 31 January 2024
  • 30 June 2024 for dogs more than one year old on 31 January 2024

 

[kebab4you]

Anyone have comments from trashy britbongs about this decision? Would love to read em!

 

[Sargon's wife's son]

I have a right to own a fully automatic assault Pitbull
Screw people who want to ban pit bulls the Fantastic dogs if you know how to train them problem is most stupid white women and n****** don't know how to train them also don't buy a pitbull if you don't have a place for it to run around .
Or use it for its intended purposes it's the same people who are surprised that bullmastiffs Huskies Alaskan Malamutes and other working dogs start having health problems because they would never bred to be non-working dogs.
Don't buy a working breed if you don't need it or the ability to take care of it

 

[Relinquish]

Anyone have comments from trashy britbongs about this decision? Would love to read em!

I have been told that people over at facebook are outraged by this. You can check r/BanPitbulls subreddit, IIRC they’ve been posting them a lot since the change happened

 

[Black Hole Vacation]

Not really going to do anything, benefits Ben will simply get a Rotty or some other offbreed until we're down to everyone owning nothing but Poodle mixes.

The real answer here is to make the process of owning a dog at least as difficult and stringent as driving a car. Don't get me wrong, I genuinely don't see any reason people would need to own these L4D Tank looking shits, but I don't want the types of people who hopped on the XL Bully bandwagon owning ANY pet to be quite honest with you.

Also, the idea that drug dealers are stupid enough to not just immediately start breeding XL Staffies or XL German Shephards and circumvent this entirely is absurd. The fact that the XL Bully is such a loosely defined breed is going to cause some major headaches too.

This shit should have been nipped in the bud the first time someones little angel decided to knaw on a toddler by slapping the owner with heavy prison time. Was the first one of these terrors owned some poor 25 year old single mum of 4? Too bad. Those are EXACTLY the kind of people who should've been prevented from owning these beasts in the first place.

 

[FuckedOffToff]

This is only England and Wales. Ownership of these dogs has no restrictions in Scotland.
Pure contrariness by our esteemed leaders, I expect.

 

[Ghostse]

These dogs could all be future good boys, we just need to accept their culture and mauling caused by structural oppression of their breed.

Part and parcel of living in a society.

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

Pure contrariness by our esteemed leaders, I expect.

The SNP would ban oxygen if Westminster ever expressed an opinion in favour of it.

 

[Poppavalyim Andropoff]

I have a right to own a fully automatic assault Pitbull

they're more a bazooka ... .50 cal ... tank

Screw people who want to ban pit bulls the Fantastic dogs if you know how to train them problem is most stupid white women and n****** don't know how to train them also don't buy a pitbull if you don't have a place for it to run around .

Don't buy a staffy, pitbull, bully, rottie or anything solid if you have arms like wet noodles. FFS I've seen so many new Christmas puppies on our walks in the last week it's ridiculous equal parts cowering when we cross paths or just absolutely no control at all.

Or use it for its intended purposes it's the same people who are surprised that bullmastiffs Huskies Alaskan Malamutes and other working dogs start having health problems because they would never bred to be non-working dogs.
Don't buy a working breed if you don't need it or the ability to take care of it

They should ban the pocket bullies some of that designer interbreeding is ridiculous

 

[RussianBlonde]

OI MATE YOU GOT A LOICENSE FOR YOUR DOG... But in all seriousness pitbulls are shitty dogs for shitty people

In all seriousness you're a retard. I have a rescue pit and she's a teddy bear. Furthermore in my country you will see all kinds of dogs from the pit family walking around without muzzles, playing with other dogs and acting like normal, well behaved dogs do. We don't have nigger culture that glorifies owning aggressive dogs and let me remind you that before pitbulls became a thing there were rottweilers and dobermans getting the same hate.


Banning XL pits is a good thing because breeding dogs like that is inhumane. They look scary but they have poor quality of life and lots of health issues.

Maybe certain countries should introduce licenses for people wanting to own "dangerous" breeds.

There is another trend currently taking place with people getting Akitas - Japanese breed that is often present in anime shows and movies. American Akitas which are more common in the west are basically programmed to kill other dogs or cats and require very experienced owners and a lot of training. But because they are popular, cute and fluffy, more retards buy them and we will soon see the consequences.

 

[DoesNotLinkToYou]

In all seriousness you're a retard. I have a rescue pit and she's a teddy bear. Furthermore in my country you will see all kinds of dogs from the pit family walking around without muzzles, playing with other dogs and acting like normal, well behaved dogs do. We don't have nigger culture that glorifies owning aggressive dogs and let me remind you that before pitbulls became a thing there were rottweilers and dobermans getting the same hate.


Banning XL pits is a good thing because breeding dogs like that is inhumane. They look scary but they have poor quality of life and lots of health issues.

Maybe certain countries should introduce licenses for people wanting to own "dangerous" breeds.

There is another trend currently taking place with people getting Akitas - Japanese breed that is often present in anime shows and movies. American Akitas which are more common in the west are basically programmed to kill other dogs or cats and require very experienced owners and a lot of training. But because they are popular, cute and fluffy, more retards buy them and we will soon see the consequences.

Kinda hard to tell if you're trolling, you recited the Pitnutter Drivel® word for word, at the very least you have a great memory.
If you're serious, please refrain from badmouthing rotties and dobermans, they're dignified dogs that were not bred for bloodsport.

 

[RussianBlonde]

Kinda hard to tell if you're trolling, you recited the Pitnutter Drivel® word for word, at the very least you have a great memory.
If you're serious, please refrain from badmouthing rotties and dobermans, they're dignified dogs that were not bred for bloodsport.

It's January 2nd, time to stop drinking.

 

[TyrasGuard]

But what if we convert all pitbulls to muslims?

 

[Spliongus]

less than one year old on 31 January 2024, it must be neutered and evidence received by 31 December 2024

Inb4 people send in envelopes with their dogs balls inside it.

Imagine if all the owners just mass released these dogs though, just streets filled with roving bands of roid-raged pibbles.

 

[Last Ride]

For context, the UK has had breed-specific bans including pit bull terriers since the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991. This is just a bit of long-overdue legal housekeeping to stop people dodging around the pit bull ban, which is the only reason XL Bullies as a breed exist.

As of 2018, there were 3,514 Pit bull terriers, 3 Japanese Tosas, 13 Dogo Argentinos, and 0 Fila Brazilieros on the Index.

You can tell which breed triggered the 1991 ban.

 

[Troonos]

Based UK. Leave none alive. Canis melanofera must be eradicated.

 

[holyhandgrenade]

In all seriousness you're a retard. I have a rescue pit and she's a teddy bear. Furthermore in my country you will see all kinds of dogs from the pit family walking around without muzzles, playing with other dogs and acting like normal, well behaved dogs do. We don't have nigger culture that glorifies owning aggressive dogs and let me remind you that before pitbulls became a thing there were rottweilers and dobermans getting the same hate.

In this imaginary world do niggers also peacefully coexist with society? 2/10 troll because I responded

 

[Kiwisee]

It's a step in the right direction for sure, but I think implementing laws to force owners to pay into insurance would deter even more dumb people from obtaining these dogs.

I know someone who owns one; he's a good dog but that's because his owner gives him boundaries that are constantly reinforced.

The problem is, most people who get them severely underestimate how strong they are and treat them like a lapdog.

 

[Cpl. Long Dong Silver]

I have a rescue pit and she's a teddy bear

I bet you open mouth kiss it

 

[Kuritan Deplorable]

Remember, exterminating entire subspecies is ok when we do it.

But legit, things stupid. Most people are too retarded to safely handle these dogs, and if you buy one as a family pet casually then you deserve to have yer nuts bit off by 'em. Dogs ain't much beholden to the golden rule, pack dynamics work different - Owners gotta be stronger n more ways than one to keep a bull in check. Telling people "No they're harmless sweethearts if you treat 'em right" is just setting them up for disaster, becaues dumbfucks think that means you can just be sweet on 'em and they'll never want to eat a face. Gotta recognize they are absolutely capable of being a very dangerous thing, and respect and control them appropriately on those grounds.

As for the UK right now? Just open up some cross training opportunities to let the ATF come by, they'll sort out the dog problem real quick if you want em too.

 

[Grub]

Honestly, bullies seem sketchier than pitbulls in my experience. Most pitbulls I've met, unless they're crazy, tend to get along well with other dogs and aren't too bad with strangers. Bullies on the other hand will get randomly aggressive with other dogs and are naturally very territorial and defensive. They're also a one dog household kind of dog. If it's a male and a female it's not too bad, but if you have two males or two females, the bully will not stop trying to attack the other dog. It will fight constantly and there's nothing you can do to stop it other than keeping the dogs separated.

They're not a dog you should own unless you live on a farm or something. They way they're being marketed by breeders as companion dogs is misleading. Sure they'll be good companions to their family but they'll be weird and sketchy with literally anyone else and might attack people or dogs you bring into your house.

Whoever thought 'oh hey I know let's breed a bunch of bulldogs together with pitbulls to get rid of the terrier sketchiness' is a fucking retard. All it did was just add in bulldog craziness to the breed.