January 2024, Bexleyheath: A puppy discovered dead in a cage with blunt force trauma head injuries.
January 2024, South London: A dog found in an alleyway with burnt legs and fractured skull.
June 2024, Birmingham: A young male dog found dead, locked in a cage floating in a canal.
June 2024, Middlesbrough: Another dog found in bushes with blunt force trauma head injuries.
August 2024, Worcestershire: A decomposed dog found in a shallow grave.
These dogs have one thing in common – they’re all XL bully types. Abused, left for dead and reported to the RSPCA. And all since the ban came in a year ago.
Puppy number eight
The corpse of the XL bully found floating in a Birmingham canal was identified as “puppy 8” by its microchip, reported the BBC.
Thought to be between one and two years old, the nameless dog’s breeder was tracked down via the chip but they hadn’t kept the contact details of who they had sold the dog to.
According to the RSPCA this is just one story that illustrates a surge in neglect aimed at the breed since the American XL bully ban.
Dr Samantha Gaines, head of companion animal science and policy RSPCA, said: “The RSPCA has for many many years strongly opposed breed specific legislation.
“We don’t believe that focusing on certain types of dogs or breed of dog actually keeps people safe.”
Neglect in numbers
Neglect directed at XL bully dogs has increased 230% since the breed was banned, reported the RSPCA.
In the first eight months of 2024, 103 incidents of neglect towards XL bullies were reported to the RSPCA, compared to 39 in the same time period in 2023, a rise of 164%.
Other reports to the RSPCA include a decapitated XL bully found in Evesham, Worcestershire, and another found dead in Middlesbrough with head injuries.
The XL Bully ban
February 2025 marks a year since it became a legal offence to own an American XL bully dog without an exemption certificate.
The government announced the ban in September 2023 after a series of deadly attacks by the breed.
Unregistered XL bullies can be seized by police and their owners could face a criminal record and an unlimited fine.
The RSPCA has called into question the effectiveness of breed specific bans and campaigns for alternative measures to keep humans and dogs safe.
Dog attacks in the North West
In September 2023 Greater Manchester police recorded 134 incidents where a person was in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog that injured a person or assistance dog.
After a period of decrease incidents peaked in July 2024 at 180 that month and then back down to 130 in September.
The data is not subdivided into breed of dog so we aren’t able to tell if an XL bully type dog was involved in any of these attacks.
The numbers don’t show a significant drop in attacks after the ban – if anything they suggest a cyclical nature in attacks.
With more happening in summer perhaps more people are outside which raises the chance of attack – but with a lack of supporting evidence and detailed data we can’t declare a cause which makes it very hard to find a solution.
So why ban breeds? Where is the evidence?
The results of breed banning
Gaines said banning a breed can lead to that type of dog being demonised and that the RSPCA is calling for a different approach which they believe could be more effective against dog attacks.
Aggression in dogs is complex, explained Gaines, and a multi-factor approach is needed which includes stronger laws on dog ownership, simplifying the dog control act and tougher sentencing.
Gaines said: “What we [the RSPCA] really want to see the UK government doing is really committing to enforcing the current legislation that we have around breeding and actual responsible dog ownership.”
The RSPCA has recently undertaken research into dog control outside of the UK, Gaines explained, and they found areas that successfully reduced dog bites had worked on making communities more responsible in terms of acquiring a dog and caring for them.
She said: “We need a change in culture. What we would also like to see is a return to some sort of licensing scheme.
“It would have to go beyond what we currently have for microchipping – what we really want to see through a licensing scheme is really robust traceability.”
Gaines explained this shouldn’t be a copy of the previously abolished dog licensing scheme but one in which fees paid by dog owners would be invested back into society through dog wardens, education and dog waste bins.
She added: “We also want to see better data collection because at the moment if a dog bites an individual there is no compulsory requirement for that bite to be recorded so we don’t fully understand the true scale of dog bites or causal factors.
“Without that information it’s very difficult to come up with evidence based policies and interventions.”
Anna Baatz, a University of Salford PhD candidate with a specialism in child dog bites, said: “The first four banned breeds were introduced when the dangerous dogs act came out and there is absolutely no evidence to show that introduction of banned breeds made any difference at all on the number of dog bites.
“We can confidently say that the introduction of banning breeds did not have an effect on hospital admissions for dog bites so based on that it is my opinion that breed-specific legislation is not an effective way of stopping dog bites.”
Baatz explained that many dog bites are sustained by children and her research has shown that better education and a shift in human behaviour could help reduce aggressive dog behaviour.
She said impulse control could be a factor in dogs biting children even if they have been taught how to safely interact with a dog.
Early findings in her research show children may lack the executive function to stop themselves from interacting with a dog in a way that could trigger an aggressive response such as throwing their arms around a dog that does not want to be hugged.
Baatz added: “What I find quite interesting is that when dog attacks do happen they are extremely well covered by the press and I think people are surprised when you put it into perspective with other types of accidental deaths.
“In 2021 for adults the highest cause of accidental deaths was falling – which was incomparably more frequent than people dying of dog attacks. But I think that the public fear of dog attacks is a lot higher.
“The data doesn’t show that dogs are an existential threat to humans. But, that said, if one person dies from a dog attack that’s one person too many.”
If a dog of any breed is showing signs of aggression Gaines recommends seeking veterinary advice as this could be due to an underlying health issue or injury.
Breed bans – the easy option?
It’s a complicated area, with many opinions and at the heart of it loss of life. But are breed bans just an easy way for politicians to show they’re doing something?
Are we any safer from dog attacks than we were a year ago? In the North West at least the numbers suggest not.
Featured image: Dlexus and file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
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