American XL bully dogs will be banned in the UK by the end of the year following a series of attacks, Rishi Sunak has said.
The British prime minister made the promise after it emerged a man has died after being attacked by two dogs – suspected to be bully XLs – in Birmingham and following a video of another attack that went viral when an 11-year-old girl suffered serious injuries.
Mr Sunak said: “I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw a another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.
“It is clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, it’s a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.”
It’s clear the American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities.
I’ve ordered urgent work to define and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe. pic.twitter.com/Qlxwme2UPQAdvertisement— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) September 15, 2023
He said he has ordered ministers to bring together police and experts to define the breed of dog behind these attacks so they can then be outlawed.
“We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year,” he said.
“These dogs are dangerous, I want to reassure the public that we will take all necessary steps to keep people safe.”
Downing Street denied the UK government has taken too long to ban American XL bully dogs.
Asked whether ministers had “dragged their heels” on commencing work to outlaw the breed, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said: “I wouldn’t accept that. I think we’ve obviously been doing some policy work on this and you heard from the Home Secretary recently about how to take this forward.
“Clearly this breed of dog isn’t defined in law so it’s right to take the time to consider the best way to put an end to these horrendous attacks that we’re seeing.”
