People now dumping bull breed puppies, what can be done?

[NmeChngeFail]

Just seen this on local FB and I'm sure this isn't the only case.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/391520164531031/permalink/2023633937986304/

What can be done to stop things like this happening or is it inevitable with the recent ban? I'm not even sure if they are the banned breed

Not surprised, I used to work there and the place was full of XL bullies, usually living in tiny flats and not being walked or trained.

Hopefully the market has now gone and the backroom breeders will stop - or sadly move on to the next dog trend.

Fully funded council services included dog wardens/animal control officers/environmental health and pet welfare licensing officers. Fully funded police services.

Otherwise given burglary is rarely investigated, no authorities are going to spend much time on animals being dumped.

Staffy type dogs have long been the most common breed in dog shelters.

Hopefully people will stop breeding them now. It's terribly sad and so irresponsible to let these dangerous dogs breed.

This. Sad for those puppies, but not that unusual for older bully breeds to get dumped. Rarely microchipped.

Nothing can be done about shitty people who dump inconvenient animals - well they can be prosecuted of course, but it's not the highest priority crime to investigate and I mean it more about their character, those who are cruel to animals are shits.

The puppies will probably need to be put down (or even if these are just in time, the next abandoned litter won't be)

When the amendments to the law come in, there will be payments to support the euthanising of newly banned dogs. Breeders have already been advised a few weeks ago, to desist from further matings - canine gestation is 9 weeks which now extends beyond the enforcement date.

There was a possibility that the last legal generation would command premium prices. If dumpings have started then it looks as though the bottom has fallen out of the market instead.

At least dumped puppies are unlikely to pose a risk to the public. If the now valueless adult breeding stock dogs are abandoned there may well be a different risk profile

Our local shelter is overrun with staffy type dogs and this has long been the case. Nobody wants them apart from those who are trying to portray a certain image.

"what can be done?"

Euthanizing is pretty cheap. They are dogs, not furry children. If nobody wants them, get rid.

Nothing can be done about it. It's the unfortunate side effect of blanket bans like this one.

Shelters won't be able to take them and lots of people aren't going to want to keep them under the new restrictions so unfortunately this is the result.

The government are already doing this. And paying people for it too.

The government are already doing this. And paying people for it too.

Good.

God, the comments on that FB page! Complete with multicolored hearts, emojis, and zero grammar or punctuation.

I saw a website linked to Defra last night that has a long line of people - whose dogs are almost certainly not XL Bullies - absolutely terrified for their dogs. This is because - as many point out - the Defra criteria are so broad, vague and could apply to many dogs over a certain height.

The criteria are not only vague, they're difficult to interpret even if you're highly literate (I looked and came away scratching my head). What's more, despite giving tight deadlines for registration and getting the exemption certificate, the government still have not set up the application system. Someone commented that - given the vagueness of the criteria - a lot more people than expected might apply, leading to further delays (when the system is finally available).

Large dogs being dumped is not a good thing. Saying "They'll just have to be euthanised" doesn't alter the fact that there are few dog wardens to round them up and the police are over-stretched as it is.

This knee-jerk reaction (which is typical of the current government) is poorly thought out and is already going very badly.

The law needs to change so that dog ownership is as monitored and tracked as car ownership. It won’t solve the problem entirely, but it’ll be a start.
All dogs licensed, registered, spayed or castrated and insured.

Having recently lost my lovely staffy, I plan to adopt another rescue one in a couple of months. The dog rescues scarcely ever have "staffy type dogs" now (and have not for months, if not longer). They are full of xl bullies, american bullies (especially since new legislation coming in), an awful lot of lurchers and greyhounds. A staffy is nothing like an American bully.

I agree, but the upholding and enforcement of it would require resources the government would not be prepared to invest. The current legislation simply allows them to pretend they've done something about it.

God knows where you are then. Dogstrust (national) for example have 56 at the moment, far far more than any other breed apart from lurchers. They also have 15 bulldogs plus 18 french bulldogs.

@user701 I have just checked Dogstrust. That is 55 staffys (right now) out of a total of 671 dogs on their available list of all their centres nationwide. That is a very small amount compared with 6 years ago when I was last looking at which time there were many. I live in North London, so I am seeing 1 or 2 staffies available in each of the 3 dogs trust centres that are nearest me but majority of dogs are xl bullies, American other bully types etc and lurcher types, as I said. I also regularly check Battersea, Blue cross, Mayhew, RSPCA and smaller local rescues. Hardly any actual staffys.

Clearly as a proportion that’s high though and along with lurchers it’s the most common breed by far.

Anyway, not what the thread was about

Haven't the council dog services announced they won't be dealing with stray XL bullies as they're 'not trained to handle such powerful dogs'?

Sadly nothing can be done. People won’t buy them now as the red tape is too complicated so they’ll be dumped as will the parents. Backyard breeders don’t care. Our local rescue has alway found these breeds dumped once they’ve done enough breeding.

The pups have 6 weeks to be adopted. Beyond that every shelter will have to euthanise them as they can’t rehome them and they As a breed are unsuited to a life in rescue kennel.

It’s heartbreaking for those tiny pups who just don’t deserve it.

Rescues have taken them up until now. But won’t be able to any longer.

They can be put to sleep.

People who have these dogs should have had them neutered, but they won't because the type of people who have these animals are not responsible owners, on the whole. So they end up with litters of puppies which again, no responsible owner would touch with a bargepole.

The law already says dogs gave to be microchipped before 8 weeks. The people that dumped these puppies are not the sort who would have a microchipped dog, let alone any further effort.

There are worse fates for an animal than humane euthanasia. Many of these dogs have been in inadequate homes all their lives and are unsuited to life as a pet or a working dog so euthanasia is the best option

I really don't see why it's heartbreaking for these dogs to be put to sleep. Much better than living out a long life in a shelter where they have zero chance of ever being adopted.