AIBU to feel sorry for the 100 dogs a month destroyed since the XL Bully ban

[Locutus2000]

I hate the whole XL Bully thing, they are a travesty against nature and the primary market appears to be antisocial idiots (not all owners obviously).

But I also love animals, especially dogs, and to hear the police are destroying an average of one hundred banned breeds a month is upsetting. They are still (arguably) sentient beings who experience pain and fear, many will have been mistreated. They didn't ask for some dickhead to fuck with their genes and make them potential monsters.

I'm quite happy for the breeds to be eliminated. I still feel sorry for the innocent dogs losing their lives whilst the breeders and owners usually seem to walk away without consequence.

AIBU to feel this way?

Do dog wardens even exist anymore?
My parent's old dog used to keep escaping and staying out all night. He was brought back by the dog warden so many times....
They also had another dog set upon by 2 others (it was done on purpose), and my mum got in touch with the local dog warden to report them. I think he had a word with the owner, but nothing was really done. Her dog was nearly killed.

Perhaps they shouldn't have bought a staffie if the two breeds are easy to get mistaken?
I mean, why make things complicated?
I don't get it.

Because dog owners have different tastes in dogs. Some people like the solid muscly types. A staffie used to live next door to me, and he was an absolute sweetheart.

There was a post on here saying that lurchers that have bull breed in them will come under the ban. My mum used to have such a lurcher, and there is no way they would be confused for a bully breed.

So if someone likes to have a solid muscly dog that can be mistaken for a pit bull, they don't really have a right to complain when that dog is mistaken for a pit bull and confiscated.

I remember the foot and mouth cow cull. Grim as fuck. Had to be done though

no my sympathies are with the bereaved families from these dog attacks

Yes, that was awful. There is a Samaritans ad about it, and it is very sad.
I think there was an episode of Heartbeat about it too.

I am also reminded of the alpaca Geronimo, who was seized and destroyed because he supposedly had TB. He didn't!

Not in my area, not sure about anywhere else (UK). Our council has a website and dog issues are dealt with via environmental health people. But there are no uniformed dog wardens and if a dog needs containing and collecting its the police, RSPCA and dog's home staff.

We need a uniformed PCSO-style role with the power to fine, issue warnings, take dogs away, etc., plus perhaps a discount or even free muzzle for licenced dogs.

Of course you're not. I know three people with xls and the dogs are the sweetest dogs ever. The whole thing is an uneccessary travesty.

Part of my job means I am involved in enforcing the XL Bully ban and have been responsible for the euthanising of many.

I do my job because I love dogs, not because I want to see them killed. But when you have been in the presence of as many XL bullies as I have, the sheer power behind them is quite terrifying.
Even the ones that are super friendly and licking your face, never put a foot wrong. You know, and have seen, the potential damage they can cause, and you know they have to be destroyed.

I have empathy for the dog owners who have lost their beloved pets. I love dogs more than people. But we don’t put dog lives above human lives.

Also to fine people for not picking up poo. So many signs everywhere about it, but has anyone actually ever been fined?

Yes there are still dog wardens in some areas of the U.K.

Dogs like XL bullies should never have existed in the first place. Good riddance.

Good, it must be a local authority thing here, we don't have it as a 'job' as such and the practical stuff is done by RSPCA and dog's home.

The thing is, compared to very expensive things such as social care etc., employing two dog wardens would cost less than £100K/year, a drop in the ocean in the overall council budget here (Northern City) but if it saves just one life...

I feel incredibly sorry for these dogs as they're a tragic consequence of human cruelty, but they are a danger to society. I'm not sure there's another solution. You couldn't safely house them all in kennels to live out their days, as that's equally as cruel and I assume they'd get pent up from lack of adequate space and exercise. I'd argue that's even crueler.

It's also an odd argument to be making unless you're vegan tbh. Farm animals are sentient beings, yet no one bats an eyelid about male chicks being macerated, horrid breeding practices of cows and chickens, etc.

You are a lone voice and you are incorrect.

that's just it, they're the sweetest dogs ever, until they're not.. and the moment they're not, be it illness, pain, anxiety, reactivity or whatever causes them to snap, you have a seriously injured or potentially dead person.

Everyone knows dogs are unpredictable, why the ever loving fuck would you want one that has the very real risk of killing you or a family member when the worst happens?

Fuck that. Utter bollocks. They are monsters. There is nothing sweet about any of them.

It's also an odd argument to be making unless you're vegan tbh. Farm animals are sentient beings, yet no one bats an eyelid about male chicks being macerated, horrid breeding practices of cows and chickens, etc

See, I don't understand this. You can be a meat eater, and be against cruelty.
I eat meat, and I am a paid up member of the Hunt Sabs.
It is like saying if you eat meat, then you must be ok with all the unjustified atrocities that happen to animals... and that you are not allowed to be upset by any of it.

This!

I'd rather the breeders were put down .

Yep!

No. Not sorry. There's something clearly very wrong with this breed. They've literally mauled so, so many people. Something is very wrong.

I do feel sorry for them. As a general rule, I only support killing animals out of necessity - so for food, for pest control, for safety. Not for sport and certainly not just because they happened to be born.

The dogs are just doing what they're supposed to do. I can both 100% support putting them down and feel sad that they are being killed for reasons that aren't their fault.

I'm mostly angry at the breeders and the owners who created a market for these dogs. I'm also annoyed with the government - probably the last one - because it's patently obvious that no one should ever have been permitted to own one of these dogs without a special licence involving special training. It's really chilling to think it was ever acceptable for a random person to buy one of these dogs as a first pet and keep it in a family home with babies and young kids.

The situation is sad in its own right, and the situation is even sadder because it was avoidable. These dogs didn't become dangerous overnight - they've been bred for generations to become killing machines.

Of course YABU. I can't believe you even have to ask.

These dogs are dangerous beasts, owned by the worst people in society.