22,000 bully dogs are spared cull

THOUSANDS of American XL bully dogs will be spared after their owners successfully applied for exemptions to having them put down.

Official figures show that a total of 26,586 owners applied for their pets to be exempt from being confiscated and destroyed under new rules.

Of these, 22,420 were successful – and 4,166 were denied – according to a response by the Department for the Environment to a freedom of information request.

The demand for exemption certificates appears to have taken the Government by surprise. In the FOI release it said it had ‘originally estimated that England and Wales had a population of 10,000 XL bully dog types’.

A House of Commons committee last year heard that there could be as many as 50,000 XL bullies, based on information supplied supder by veterinary practices. Under new restrictions, unregistered pets ts can be taken and owners fined and d prosecuted.

Seized dogs are then taken to o kennels before a court decides if they should either be destroyed or are deemed not to be a threat to public safety.

The Certificate of Exemption entitles ntigally the holder to continue to legally keep their dogs at a cost of £92.40.

The dogs must also be muzzled d and kept on a lead in public, while males s must be neutered and females spayed. . Their owners must have valid third party y public liability liabili insurance. Under the new regulations, r XL bullies may not no be held on a lead by anyone on under 16 and their owners ers must allow a police officer to check c the dog’s microchip if they th are asked. It’s a legal requirement req to have any dog over ov the age of eight weeks microchipped. mi

The T reasons for exemption certificates ce being denied included: in Invalid insurance start st dates, owners being under un 16, and duplicate applications. appl

Defra said it had received 137 applications applic for payments to owners who had euthanised their dogs and an had paid out £13,600 in compensation for euthanasia, reflecting 68 completed compensation payments of £200. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons reported that some of its members who had euthanised XL bully dogs ‘have faced abuse and harassment’.

The Government move to ban XL bullies followed a series of attacks on people.

In the most recent attack, Esther Martin, 68, was killed at her home in Jaywick in Essex on Saturday by a breed reported to be an XL bully.

Britain’s dog population is estimated at some 12million, according to the Royal Veterinary College. The most common specific dog breeds across all ages were the labrador retriever (6.9 per cent), Jack Russell terrier (4.5 per cent), English cocker spaniel (4.3 per cent), Staffordshire bull terrier (4.2 per cent) and chihuahua (3.6 per cent).