Finally - govt. explore dog ban

[Tapasita]

Finally the Govt are looking into banning* *American bully XL dogs. I expect the "it's not the dog but the owner" responses to this news but I do think these types of dogs are categorically more dangerous than other breeds, and I'm surprised, given the number of fatalities, attacks and serious injuries over the last few years (most on small children) that it's taken this long for someone in Govt. to pay attention. Why anyone would want to own such a savage dog is beyond me - I personally think it's a working class status symbol primarily. Sorry if that sounds rude but I do instantly judge people who choose these breeds of dogs above any other breed. They know they are heavy, dangerous and powerful. Just why? What are you trying to prove??? They're effing ugly to boot. And they kill children repeatedly.

Certain types of individuals choose that breed again and again with zero care for the consequences. It's just ignorance and "tough image" over..........well, anything else.

Absolutely they should be banned, and people who seek to own a dog - any breed for what it's worth - should be required to have a license and undergo appropriate dog-training courses. These two things should be mandatory, because any dog can kill or inflict serious injury regardless of their otherwise "peaceful" temperaments (which is always the counter-argument.)

American bully XL dogs: Suella Braverman orders 'urgent advice' on banning breed - BBC News

Great news and I wholeheartedly agree with you OP. Those poor dogs have been bred by humans to have a genetic neurological disorder which makes them respond abnormally to stress, refuse to give up when they should and, coupled with their size and inbred excessive musculature, they are literally an accident waiting to happen. Totally unsuited to being a domestic pet now. I'm sick of reading about them ripping apart children and, increasingly, adults as well.

Not the dogs fault but there is something intrinsically wrong with their makeup because of the way they were selectively bred for aggression, strength and fighting to the death. A genetic dead end. They need to be left to die out now. Same with all pitbull-based bloodsport dogs. Criminal what humans did to them and beyond stupid to have them as pets.

I get that current owners will be upset but they will be allowed to keep them until their natural death, as with the last ban. They just won't be able to breed them and sell neurologicaly damaged puppies for a nice, undeclared, tax-free I come, which is what they're really upset about.

More like naked ambition and populist manoeuvring into the public eye...

Braverman is trying to do something popular I think. It's not her brief.

Because its no different to punishing a whole gender/race of people for the actions of a few...

Perhaps a better way of going about things would be to make sure owners of ANY dog properly know what the dog needs in terms of training, exercise, socialising and stimulation and that they're properly able and equipped to follow those things through rather than oh well they want a dog so there you go.

Dogs should be registered and licensed (they are licensed here in NI) but muzzling them all or having a whole breed PTS is unreasonable

A Jack Russell can't kill

I have been working in this area for some time as our police force has been cited as a force lead for dog attacks

I can categorically confirm that the majority of dog attacks in our force area has been by X-L. Bully breeds. Sorry it's a fact.

I'm a dog lover with a very big male German shepherd but the. L bully bred is being proven to be a danger to the public.

@luckylavender but it could still fuck you up. Particularly if you're a baby and the dog isn't being watched.

I expect the "it's not the dog but the owner" responses to this news

I was listening to R4 this morning and they had a guy on who is an expert witness in court cases involving dangerous dogs and he said that he's sick of hearing that line too and sometimes it's absolutely the dog/breed! And in the case of American XL bullies it absolutely is and they should be banned right now. They were bred to maximise their danger - size, muscles, bite, aggressiveness, prey drive, etc. He likened them to the 'Dogs of War' that the Roman army bred especially to attack when they were looking to expand into new territories. If you want to listen to the clip it was around 8.40 am today. Very interesting.

Hopefully all the existing XL Bullies will require to be neutered, and muzzled in public.

If they get banned, then all the existing ones can apparently be seized by the police/dog warden. This article goes into a lot of detail about what happens if you own a banned breed: https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/dog-breeds-banned-uk-what-24241056

I think the real problem is with the people that have and especially breed such dogs not the dogs themselves.

as the pp who works in a vet said, if you ban them the (ex) owners will just find
another dangerous breed.
there should be some kind of lincensing system if you want to look after a dog

I wouldn’t support putting down healthy dogs unless confirmed to be dangerous.
I would support an immediate ban on breeding them but that is likely to be difficult to enforce.

I can’t click YANBU due to your unpleasant working class comments. However I am also happy something is happening regarding the breed. There is one at our local park and we had a horrible incident where we went past in a narrow path and my 4yr old was crying (not about the dog) and the dog started lunging and snarling at us. I was terrified that the guy, young and small, was not going to be able to hold the dog back. I have never had an experience like that with a dog and have since researched how to respond if a child is attacked, coached my kids how to behave when we see it. That’s not an acceptable level of risk in a public park.

I totally agree with a ban for XL Bullies, a saw some near where I live a few months ago. However the type of people that own them include criminals, who use them to enforce their drugs debts and other groups who run dog fights. They will continue to own them unless the police are prepared to enforce the law as opposed to go after hurty words on FB etc

Have you actually looked at the statistics for dog killings though?

Its only the past 10 years that these have been responsible for the majority of killings.
The previous years it was different breeds.

Also there are a lot of dogs that are similarly to XL bullies but are not XL bullies and they can be just as powerful and dangerous.

I have a very strong, large breed (American bulldog x Rottweiler x mastiff) and her temperature is incredible.
She is the most beautifully natured dog you will ever meet so some people will say I’m biased.

But it annoys me that the only dogs people seem to give a shit about are the ones that snap and attack.

What about the hundreds that are neglected and abused every day that don’t end up biting back.

Instead of wasting time and banning one breed that would be almost impossible to police because so many dogs are similar and it makes them cooler if they’re banned and in the next couple of years it will be s different breed that’s seen as the new status dog - why not just have stricter rules on dog ownership all together.

Lets ban people from getting any dog breed unless they can prove they can take care of it.

That's not entirely true. Both departments have some control over the DDA. DEFRA are generally responsible for enforcing it, but the Home Office can made amendments to the act. I believe the 1991 act was introduced by the Home Office not DEFRA.

How about a law that says all such dogs must immediately be sterilised and must be muzzled in public? Ten they'll just have to tear the face off people in the comfort of their own home.

Obviously something needs to happen but I'm.not sure a ban is the correct response. Wont this lead to more irresponsible ownership with stray bully's being abandoned and freely roaming?

Surely tighter controls on ownership and breeding are egats necessary

And that's why I'd be happy to see much tougher rules being put on larger breeds. My dog running around birmingham wouldn't have made the news as he wouldn't not have caused the harm the bully did. They are killing people and children.
Breeding should be outlawed (for all breeds preferably), having dogs shouldn't be for profit. Licenses should be bought back for all dog owners, dogs should be kept on leads especially public areas. Tougher sentences should be bought in, you have a dog that kill someone, you are responsible for that death. These dogs are potential weapons, and should be treated as such.

I love English bull terriors but I won't have one in my house because I have children. I'm a good dog owner who trains her dogs and makes sure they are well socialized etc but I also look at the potential the dog has to hurt people.

But that’s only in the past 10 years.

The previous 10 years there were only about 2 fatal attacks from XL bullies and the 10 years before that there were none as it was mainly Rottweilers or German shepherds.

I’m not saying XL bullies aren’t dangerous but they are the status dogs right now.
In a few years time it’ll be something else.

I think stricter laws for all dogs would be easier than trying to police what dogs are XL bullies and which ones just look similar to them but aren’t actually banned.

We should definitely have dog licences in this country. And for a variety of other animals, if not all.

Would save so much hassle for charities like RSPCA taking cruel or irresponsible owners through the courts to get them banned, so they can’t harm any other animals.

And would make sure irresponsible owners didn’t own pets that could harm others.

Does this mean that if you identify someone with a banned dog, they will get put down?

I'm pleased a ban is being considered.
The "its not the dog that's the problem, it's the owners" is a dangerous mantra. It encourages the worst owners to prove that they are strong enough and alpha enough to be able to control and train one of these dogs. Re categorise them under Dangerous Wild Animals (which can apply to hybrids) and only allow them to be kept by licensed owners.

This 1000%!

Banning one breed will not work.
It will literally be almost impossible to police and won’t do any good because it’ll be another breed in a couple of years time.

Having tighter laws on owning dogs (or any pet) is what we should be pushing for.

Breeding these dogs is as cruel as breeding the pug faced type that can't breathe or give birth naturally.
They are often hugely inbred so come with massive behavioural issues built in from already hot headed, fight-ready dogs, they are bred intentionally to perpetuate a fearsome look with the ability and strength to kill. No one is safe when these dogs are around. They are Frankenstein breeds, mutated beyond necessary to fight and do damage. The breeders are the real monsters but the XL bully breeds should be controlled, muzzled at least until they can be bred out of existence

How do you deal with them when they come to the vets?

i am with you i fear my children walking past these dogs from the media and the amount of SMALL CHILDREN! they have killed and attacked vulnerable elderly people just for sitting in there gardens.. the amount of people i see with these dogs and they have no control over them even if they look like they do pueny little skinny arms holding them with just rope around there necks most the time i feel so sad for the dogs because it isnt their fault they have been interbred, wound up the majority of the time and made to feel like they should attack because this is why people have had this breed for protection and unfortunatley they are made to be aggressive due to owners, there DNA and the fact theyve been bred through overbreeding and probably hit by people that cant control them so yes for the dogs own benefit they should be banned.