Damian Spencer from Derby purchased Stoney two years in the past for the discount worth of simply £50, which led him to imagine that he could not be one of many costly, infamous breeds
A canine proprietor fears his beloved pet might be put down after he was confirmed to be an XL Bully and seized by police.
Damian Spencer, 51, from close to Kingsway in Derby purchased ‘Stoney’ for £50 again in April 2022 with out realising he was an XL Bully, a controversial breed of dog. Often, these sort of pups may promote for 1000’s of kilos till a ban on them was launched on the finish of January this 12 months.
Now, a legitimate Certificate of Exemption is required to legally personal an XL Bully. He had believed that the now-two-year-old canine was a combined mongrel-type breed. But because the canine began to develop Damian grew involved that Stoney was actually an XL Bully, studies Derbyshire Live.
After deciding to get a vet’s opinion on the topic and because of private well being points, nevertheless, the one appointment Damian mentioned he may ebook was after the cutoff date of January 31. Damian rang the police and was informed that as he did not know his canine was an XL Bully, he would be capable to register for a certificates after the deadline.
Yet after the vets confirmed that Stoney was actually an XL Bully, Damian alleges that police requested him to signal the canine over and, when he refused, the canine was taken off of him on February 24 as a part of an investigation. He mentioned: “It has been actually laborious, he’s my pet however for my son who struggles, Stoney is his companion. Stoney is a tremendous canine and performs so effectively with others.
“He actually is nearly as good as muck. I rang up the police to allow them to know after which some officers got here and informed me to signal him [Stoney] over. I refused to [sign him over] after which they got here spherical once more and I ended up having to present them the canine.” Damian says that Stoney’s destiny is now being determined and he has needed to fork out tons of on canine solicitor charges.
Derbyshire Constabulary confirmed an investigation into the incident was ongoing. A spokesperson for the police mentioned: “The first stage of the XL bully ban got here into drive from 31 December 2023, and a canine of the sort referred to as the XL bully was added to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. It grew to become an offence to promote, abandon, enable to stray, give away, breed from or have an XL bully in public with no lead and muzzle.
“Owners who believed their canine(s) might be an XL bully sort and wished to maintain them, have been strongly inspired to use for a certificates of exemption by means of the Defra Portal earlier than the appliance course of closed on 31 January 2024. This was a well-publicised owner-led course of which on the time was unbiased from the police.
“As of February 1, 2024, the second stage of the ban got here into impact. It grew to become an offence to be in possession of an XL bully canine with no certificates of exemption and/or protecting an XL bully canine with out abiding by set situations. After this date, any dogs with out such a certificates, or that didn’t meet the set situations, might be seized by police. Dogs would then be placed into police kennels till the top of proceedings or launched on a short lived foundation on the interim exemption scheme.
“The solely strategy to legally have a brand new XL bully exempted after this date is following a courtroom course of which is able to contain a evaluation of the canine and proprietor’s historical past, the co-operation of the proprietor, and whether or not they’re deemed a match and correct person. We know this can be a extremely emotive topic, however many accountable house owners have embraced the laws, making use of for the exemption certificates, and complying.
“We continue to work closely with various partners in educating and improving dog ownership. There is a responsibility on all of us to ensure that we do all we can to keep the dogs safe through responsible dog ownership and ultimately minimise any risk posed to the public.”
