XL bully canine ban a ‘big burden’ on policing, chiefs say

Police enforcement of the ban on proudly owning XL bully canine is inserting a “big burden” on forces, police chiefs have stated.

The Nationwide Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) stated they’re dealing with a “variety of challenges in kennel capability, resourcing and ever-mounting prices”.

The NPCC lead for harmful canine, Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, stated kennelling prices and veterinary payments in England and Wales had risen from £4m in 2018 to greater than £11m between February and September 2024 – throughout the first eight months of the ban.

He added that by April this 12 months, forces predict they might have spent £25m, an increase of 500%.

The ban was introduced in England and Wales on 1 February 2024 following quite a lot of assaults involving the canine. Related restrictions have been additionally introduced in Scotland, whereas in Northern Ireland, XL bullies now have to be muzzled and kept on a lead in public.

It’s a prison offence to personal an XL bully dog the place they’re banned with out an exemption certificates, that means unregistered pets can be taken and house owners probably fined and prosecuted.

“Policing will uphold the federal government’s choices, and we’ll act robustly to take action, however the greater image is a give attention to accountable canine possession,” Mr Hobrough stated.

He stated that whereas the drive’s response to the ban has “pushed down” the variety of canine assaults, “the demand has been and continues to be merely big”.

“As of at the moment we’ve got not acquired any further funding to account for this,” he added.

He stated conversations have been “ongoing” with the Division for Surroundings, Meals and Rural Affairs however there had been no formal settlement on funding “to account for these further demand components”.

For the reason that XL bully ban, police forces have elevated their kennel capability by a 3rd. However the NPCC stated kennel areas have been “reaching capability”, with prices “growing by the day”.

The policing physique added that it will possibly value round £1,000 a month to maintain an XL bully in a kennel.

In complete, between February and September 2024, police forces in England and Wales seized and euthanised 848 canine at an estimated value of £340,000, stated the NPCC. It stated these have been canine surrendered to the police by house owners who had not complied with the ban, or not taken benefit of a compensation scheme.

In the identical time interval, police seized a complete of 4,586 canine suspected of being banned, together with XL bullies. So-called Section 1 dogs are banned in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and in addition embrace the American pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, Dogo Argentinos, and Fila Brazileiro.

NPCC tactical lead Supt Patrick O’Hara stated he didn’t assume all XL bullies have been robotically harmful, however that they had the “propensity” to be by their “sheer dimension and energy”.