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Nearly 3,500 banned dogs are still living at home with their owners, new figures show amid fears there could be thousands more not registered on official records.
Government data showed there were 3,499 banned dogs across England, Scotland and Wales, with 3,316 of them living in England.
It comes after prime minister Rishi Sunak announced a ban on XL bullies following a series of attacks by the canines, some of which were fatal.
According to the new figures, obtained from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) by the BBC, most of the dogs are pit bull terriers, with 3,316 in England, 149 in Wales and 13 in Scotland.
There are currently four dog breeds on the UK’s Dangerous Dogs Act banned list: the pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the dogo argentino and the fila Brasileiro.
These breeds can be taken from owners unless they are placed on the index of exempt dogs which is obtained if the court believes the dog is not a danger to the public.
XL bullys are close to the pit bull terrier and have been crossbred with otherdogs such as English bulldogs, Olde English Bulldogge and American bulldogs.
The dog was recognised as a breed by the US United Kennel Club in 2013. But they are not recognised by the main dog associations in the UK, which is partly why they haven’t been banned.
Announcing the ban last month, Mr Sunak said the animals, which campaigners have linked to at least 14 human deaths since 2021, are a danger to children and communities
He said he shared “the nation’s horror” over videos of recent dog attacks and had ordered urgent work to define “and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe.”
Ministers have not yet defined the characteristics of the American XL bully - something that could make it difficult for police and enforcement officers to track down and identify them.
“We don’t have accurate numbers of how many of these dogs are really out there,” police constable Paul Jameson, a dog legislation officer in Sheffield, told the BBC. “I would say there’s thousands.”
Earlier this month, a woman was injured after she was attacked by her own American XL bully in Norfolk.
Ian Langley was attacked near his Sunderland home on Tuesday afternoon and later died in hospital from severe neck injuries.
In November last year, Jack Lis, 10, was killed by an XL bully while at a friend’s house in South Wales. The owners of the dog, Amy Salter and Brandon Haydon, were jailed as a result of the attack.
The Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest canine welfare charity, previously said it wants to see the dog control laws replaced with one consolidated law that allows for early intervention with a focus on the prevention of dog bite incidents and includes measures that deter and punish owners of dogs whose behaviour is dangerous.
Other animal charities including the RSPCA and British Veterinarian Association have warned against breed-specific bans, saying the are ineffective and could see thousands of innocent dogs put down.
Leading veterinarian Dave Martin, who acts as animal welfare adviser for around 1,000 vet practices under the umbrella of firm My Family Vets, told The Independent that XL bullies have become “fashionable”, with some owners acquiring them as “status dogs” to make themselves look “more aggressive”.
He warned that banning the dogs is not a plausible solution – with some efforts to clamp down on the canines even potentially increasing their popularity.
“We tried that with pit bulls and it didn’t work at all. We need to be looking at a multifaceted approach to reducing these attacks,” he said.
The environment secretary said this week that the UK government is “pretty close” to bringing forward the proposed ban on the breed.
Therese Coffey said she thought a “good definition” of the dog type had been agreed, with only a “few other things” such as compensation needing to be signed-off.
Ms Coffey said the UK government estimated there were about 10,000 American XL bullies in the UK while the Blue Cross animal charity suggested it was more like 15,000.
