Dangerous dogs?

Hundreds of XL Bullies killed, but attacks on the rise

(Bild: BlockBrushstrokes - stock.adobe.com)

American Bullies (also known as XL Bullies) have been banned in England and Wales for almost a year. Since then, hundreds of the animals have been put down - but this is not enough to get the problem of dangerous attacks under control. 

As the BBC reported, citing official figures, almost 820 dogs were put down between January and August - more than 100 per month. That is more than twice as many as in the entire previous year.

It was not clear from the report which individual dog breeds were involved. The number of dog attack incidents was on course to rise in 22 of the 25 police forces in the two parts of the country that responded to a BBC inquiry.

High-profile, sometimes fatal incidents
The ban was introduced following a number of high-profile and sometimes fatal incidents involving XL Bully dogs and came into force gradually. From December 21, 2023, breeding and sale was banned. Since February of this year, it has also been forbidden to keep the animals unless they were already registered before the law came into force.

The National Police Chief Council's (NPCC) criticized that the ban would lead to major financial and personnel costs for the police. According to the report, the cost of keeping and caring for confiscated dogs rose from 4 to 25 million pounds (around 4.8 million euros and 30 million euros respectively). Another problem is that XL bully dogs are not easy to identify as such.