XL bully ban saga a dog’s breakfast

It’s hard to avoid the obvious pun – the SNP’S handling of the XL bullies saga looks a bit of a dog’s breakfast.

Humza Yousaf announced on Thursday that Scotland will follow England and Wales by introducing a ban on the breed.

A ministerial statement is expected next week, but the First Minister said the Scottish Government had essentially been left with no choice.

"I am afraid that it has become clear in the past few weeks that we have seen a flow of XL bully dogs to Scotland as a result of a number of people bringing such dogs to the country,” he told MSPS.

It was a wholly predictable U-turn. Legislation introduced by the UK government has made it illegal to breed, sell or walk XL bullies in public without a lead and muzzle in England and Wales, and owners must apply for a certificate of exemption for current pets before the end of the month.

This led to reports of large numbers of dogs being transported across the border to avoid the restrictions. Mr Yousaf previously insisted Scotland was not a “safe haven” for the breed, but that was certainly the perception held by some.

The First Minister’s spokesman said the ban was about the “large numbers” of XL bullies being brought into Scotland, rather than concerns about the breed itself.

But, as one journalist pointed out, would ministers have had such a problem with large numbers of teacup chihuahuas flooding north?

It’s important to acknowledge that animal welfare groups have raised legitimate concerns about the XL bully legislation, its implementation, and how it will work in practice. But the fact remains the Scottish Government must have foreseen this situation unfolding.

In a letter last month to Siobhian Brown, the community safety minister who will deliver next week’s statement, the UK Government’s animal welfare minister Robbie Douglasmiller set out its position. “If an XL bully owner in England and Wales travelled to Scotland and sold or otherwise transferred the dog to someone in Scotland, this is unlikely to be an offence,” he wrote.

How did the Scottish Government think this would play out?

newsdeskts@scotsman.com