Ministers pressed over XL bully exemption numbers
Scottish ministers have been criticised for refusing to disclose how many XL bully owners have applied for exemptions or opted for compensation to have their dogs put to sleep.
In the first stage of new rules brought in by the Scottish Government in February, the breeding and sale of the dogs have been banned while those already kept as pets must be muzzled in public places and in cars.
Stage two of the new rules come into force from July 31, when it will be illegal to own an XL bully dog in Scotland without an exemption certificate or having applied for an exemption. Owners who decide not to keep their dogs can apply for £100 to cover the cost of euthanasia/veterinary fees and £100 to compensate for the loss of the animal.
The Scottish Government has, however, refused to confirm how many exemptions have been awarded or compensation claims have been submitted so far.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman would say only that data on the number of exemptions and compensation claims would be disclosed after the July 31 deadline has passed.
Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene said: “The SNP had to be dragged kicking and screaming into backing the XL bully ban in line with the rest of the United Kingdom.
“Now they appear to be diverging from the UK Government on the issue again, and just for the sake of it. Ahead of this scheme closing, SNP ministers should be pulling out the stops to publicise it as they promised they would.
“The lack of transparency from the SNP doesn’t surprise me in the least – public safety has always come secondary to their handling of this issue.”
The SNP Government’s refusal to confirm numbers is in contrast to the UK Government who, in February, confirmed that thousands of American XL bully dogs had been spared after their owners successfully applied for exemptions to having them put down.
Data showed that a total of 26,586 owners applied for their pets to be exempt from being confiscated and destroyed under the new rules.
Of those, 22,420 were successful and 4,166 were denied, with the demand for exemption certificates apparently taking the UK Government by surprise, having originally estimated that England and Wales had a population of 10,000 XL bully dog types – though information supplied by veterinary practices had put the number as high as 50,000.
SNP ministers had initially resisted calls to follow the UK Government’s lead on banning XL bullies despite a spate of deaths across the UK but they were eventually forced to follow suit. Police shot and killed an XL bully type dog in Hamilton in January after it attacked two men.
The application scheme runs until July 31, after which it will be a criminal offence to own an Xlbullyw it ho utan exemption certificate.
Dog owners must apply online or by post, pay a £92.40 fee, obtain third party insurance and neuter and microchip their pets.