Advice for XL Bully Owners and Lovers
We are all in a similar position as we wait for the Government to make further announcements regarding their plans to ban the XL Bully breed.
However, we wanted to address many owners' and licensed breeders' questions. So for now, we have put together all that we know and will continue to update this blog with any further information.
What was the XL Bully announcement?
As of yet, the government hasn’t really announced much. However, the Prime Minister announced that by the end of 2023, the XL Bully would be added to the banned dog breeds list.
We imagine that the next steps by the government will be to define exactly what they classify as an XL Bully and the next steps.
How are American Bully XL’s or XL Bully’s classified?
The American Bully XL is not currently classified as a breed by the UK Kennel Club. This is because they’re a mixed breed, developed by cross-breeding other dogs. This is part of what has added to the confusion as people wonder exactly what the government means by XL Bullys.
There are several ‘types’ of American Bullys. So as you can imagine, it will be a difficult process for the government to define what exact dog breed has been banned. It’s expected that they’ll need to produce a breed standard (similar to what the Kennel Club does) to identify exactly what dogs and owners will be affected.
How will I know if my dog is affected?
For now, it’ll likely be a case of keeping an eye on the news to await the classification announced by the government. Typically these classifications are based on appearance rather than specifically on parentage. However, we will only know for sure once further information has been released by the government.
What does this mean if I own an XL Bully?
We can appreciate that it must be distressing to wonder if you’re going to be affected or not. Especially because as of yet there haven’t been a lot of specifics announced regarding the ‘ban’.
At present, it’s not illegal to own a dog that’s described as an XL Bully. We would recommend that you stay up to date with the government’s announcements to ensure you’re meeting any criteria or restrictions that they set.
Although it hasn’t been specified, what will likely happen is that the government will work with dog experts to ensure that responsible owners can keep their pets. It’ll likely involve owners needing to register them and comply with a set of restrictions set in place by the experts.
However, we want to make it clear that as of the published date, the government has not confirmed this to be the case. Nor have they released when they expect this announcement to be made.
Are there any other recommendations I should be aware of?
It’s mostly a situation of wait-and-see, however, we do have a few suggestions to hopefully help. If you think you own an American Bully XL dog, you should make sure it’s neutered, chipped and trained to wear a muzzle.
Another thing you’ll need to do is make sure that any garden or home where your pet resides is a secure place. One where they aren’t able to freely leave and escape. The government will likely make recommendations in due course. However, these suggestions are based on previously released information about other banned dog breeds.
Has the government banned any other dog breeds in the UK?
Yes, the Dangerous Dog Act (1991) was brought in to give the power to ban any breed that was deemed dangerous. This typically applies to dogs that were either bred to be fighting dogs or share the same characteristics as said dogs. It’s currently illegal to sell, rehome or abandon any banned dog breed.