1 day ago
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Police enforcement of the prohibition connected owning XL bully dogs is placing a "huge burden" connected forces, constabulary chiefs person said.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said they are facing a "number of challenges successful kennel capacity, resourcing and ever-mounting costs".
The NPCC pb for unsafe dogs, Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, said kennelling costs and veterinary bills successful England and Wales had risen from £4m successful 2018 to much than £11m betwixt February and September 2024 - during the archetypal 8 months of the ban.
He added that by April this year, forces foretell they could person spent £25m, a emergence of 500%.
The prohibition was introduced successful England and Wales connected 1 February 2024 pursuing a fig of attacks involving the dogs. Similar restrictions were besides introduced successful Scotland, while successful Northern Ireland, XL bullies present person to beryllium muzzled and kept connected a pb successful public.
It is simply a transgression offence to ain an XL bully dog wherever they are banned without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets volition beryllium taken and owners perchance fined and prosecuted.
"Policing volition uphold the government's decisions, and we'll enactment robustly to bash so, but the bigger representation is simply a absorption connected liable canine ownership," Mr Hobrough said.
He said that portion the force's effect to the prohibition has "driven down" the fig of canine attacks, "the request has been and continues to beryllium simply huge".
"As of contiguous we person not received immoderate further backing to relationship for this," helium added.
He said conversations were "ongoing" with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs but determination had been nary ceremonial statement connected backing "to relationship for these further request factors".
Since the XL bully ban, constabulary forces person accrued their kennel capableness by a third. But the NPCC said kennel spaces were "reaching capacity", with costs "increasing by the day".
The policing assemblage added that it tin outgo astir £1,000 a period to support an XL bully successful a kennel.
In total, betwixt February and September 2024, constabulary forces successful England and Wales seized and euthanised 848 dogs astatine an estimated outgo of £340,000, said the NPCC. It said these were dogs surrendered to the constabulary by owners who had not complied with the ban, oregon not taken vantage of a compensation scheme.
In the aforesaid clip period, constabulary seized a full of 4,586 dogs suspected of being banned, including XL bullies. So-called Section 1 dogs are banned successful the UK nether the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and besides see the American pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, Dogo Argentinos, and Fila Brazileiro.
NPCC tactical pb Supt Patrick O'Hara said helium did not deliberation each XL bullies were automatically dangerous, but they had the "propensity" to beryllium by their "sheer size and power".
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