Owners of American XL bully dogs is not going to face a cull of their pets, the UK’s prime vet has stated, after the Prime Minister pledged to ban the breed.
Campaign teams have hailed the promise to ban the dogs by the tip of the yr after a sequence of assaults prompted calls to place the breed on the Dangerous Dogs Act listing.
But questions stay about how precisely a ban will probably be applied and enforced, with considerations concerning the problem of defining the canine breed given its cross-bred nature.
Chief Veterinary Officer Professor Christine Middlemiss stated that coming to a “consensus” on that definition could be one of many first issues officers would do.
This canine is, the truth is, bred as a way to struggle and to be aggressive
Lord Baker
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she additionally confirmed that an “amnesty” strategy would imply there wouldn’t be a cull of the dogs.
“There will be an amnesty. So people that already have these dogs – and some of them will be well socialised, well managed, well trained – you will need to register and take certain actions.
“Your dog will need to be neutered. It will need to be muzzled when out in public and on a lead and insured.
“But if you comply with these actions, and that means we’ll know where these dogs are, which will be a massive benefit, then yes, absolutely you will be able to keep your dog.”
Such an strategy would echo that taken when pitbulls had been banned underneath the Dangerous Dogs Act within the Nineteen Nineties.
The ban comes after a person died after being attacked on Thursday by two dogs – suspected to be bully XLs – in Staffordshire.
Mr Sunak used a video on social media to vow that the Government would “ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year.
“These dogs are dangerous, I want to reassure the public that we will take all necessary steps to keep people safe,” he stated.
He additionally stated that he had ordered ministers to convey collectively police and specialists to outline the breed of canine behind these assaults to allow them to be outlawed.
Prof Middlemiss stated: “We will work with veterinary experts, dog experts, the police and other agencies who have been involved with these dogs and our animal welfare NGOs so we can come to consensus on the type of dogs we have been seeing that are doing these attacks and an appropriate breed definition.
“And that will be one of the first pieces of work that we have to take forward.”
The resolution was welcomed by campaigners however different teams – together with the RSPCA and the Kennel Club – stated banning American XL bully dogs wouldn’t cease assaults.
There has been a transparent case for banning them for a very long time. What I say to the Government is nice, get on with it, and the earlier we are able to do that the higher
Sir Keir Starmer
Lord Baker, the architect of the Act through the Sir John Major period, stated American XL bully dogs must be “neutered or destroyed” as soon as the ban has come into power, with any permitted to dwell being “muzzled for the entire time”.
Speaking to LBC, the Tory peer stated: “It should be done almost immediately because this is a very dangerous breed and it has actually killed children and attacked other people, and I do not accept the views of the Kennel Club and the RSPCA that breeds should not be banned.
“This dog is, in fact, bred in order to fight and to be aggressive. It has already done enough damage and the Prime Minister is absolutely right to add it.”
Labour, whereas supportive of the ban, criticised the Prime Minister for “dithering” over bringing in restrictions on their possession.
Sir Keir Starmer advised broadcasters: “There has been a clear case for banning them for a long time. What I say to the Government is good, get on with it, and the sooner we can do this the better.”
Backers of the ban have rejected strategies that the choice was made regardless of an absence of information and proof.
Legal tutorial Dr Lawrence Newport advised Times Radio: “We actually know that bans work, because we’ve had one in place on pitbulls since 1991.
“That ban has been very successful. And we know that because for example, in the UK, we have half the per capita deaths to dogs that the US does, and that difference is entirely explained by pitbulls.”
