The American XL bully is ready to be banned in England and Wales from 1 February – however homeowners are capable of apply for an exemption, which is able to permit them to maintain their pets in the event that they adhere to restrictions.
Thursday 25 January 2024 02:03, UK
Owners of XL bully dogs will need to have their pets registered or put down throughout the subsequent week or face a legal document or high-quality, the federal government has warned.
The American XL bully is ready to be banned in England and Wales from 1 February following a spate of recent assaults – some deadly – involving the breed.
Scotland has additionally launched its personal laws which is able to basically mirror the ban in England and Wales, although it’s set to come back in at a later date.
Owners should both have their dogs euthanised or apply for an exemption certificates, which includes registering their pets with authorities.
Those whose dogs are registered may even must adjust to restrictions to make sure their pets don’t pose a hazard, together with having them microchipped, neutered, and saved on a lead and muzzled when in public.
The registration system for the breed will shut at midday on 31 January, and homeowners have till then to acquire their certificates.
The UK’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss, urged individuals to not depart registration to the final minute.
“If you need to preserve your canine, you need to register it now,” she stated.
“If you might be uncertain in case your canine is an XL bully or whether or not any puppies could develop as much as be of this canine sort, you need to adjust to the related necessities and restrictions.”
What does the ban imply?
From 1 February, anybody present in possession of an unregistered XL bully, or who doesn’t adhere to the strict circumstances, will face a legal document and a limiteless high-quality.
Owners wishing to maintain their XL bully should pay a payment – £92.40 in England and Wales – to register the pet.
According to the federal government, over 30,000 XL bully dogs have been registered because the regulation was introduced.
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The authorities says it has additionally acquired greater than 100 claims by way of its compensation scheme – for prices resembling reimbursement for euthanasia – from homeowners who’ve had their exemption request rejected or chosen to not preserve their dogs.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak introduced the restrictions earlier this 12 months after branding the breed a “hazard to communities” following a string of assaults – together with some that had been deadly.
The ban includes two phases, the second and last stage of which is able to come into drive on 1 February.
The first stage got here into drive on 31 December, when it grew to become unlawful to have an XL bully in public until muzzled and placed on a lead.
Breeding, promoting, promoting, rehoming, abandoning and permitting one of many dogs to stray was additionally made unlawful in England and Wales from that date.
