{"id":1793,"date":"2025-03-31T13:57:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T13:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=1793"},"modified":"2025-04-01T23:09:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T23:09:42","slug":"every-dog-breed-banned-in-the-uk-following-xl-bully-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/31\/every-dog-breed-banned-in-the-uk-following-xl-bully-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Every dog breed banned in the UK following XL bully attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"A\t<\/div>
XL Bully dogs are among the breeds banned in the UK after a string of attacks (Picture: Liverpool Echo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An escaped XL Bully was shot dead after it mauled and killed<\/a> a pensioner in Warrington a year after the breed was banned. <\/p>\n

The 84-year-old died yesterday after he was attacked by the banned breed in Warrington last month. <\/p>\n

The police also shot another XL Bully 19 times during the incident and seized a third, smaller dog. <\/p>\n

XL Bullies have been banned since February 1 last year following a spate of fatal and serious attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Among the victims was 52-year-old Ian Price<\/a>, killed by two XL Bullies in Staffordshire in September 2023. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Esther\t<\/div>
Esther Martin was killed by two suspected XL Bully dogs in Jaywick, Essex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Esther Martin, 68, was attacked by two dogs in Jaywick<\/a> in February last year as she visited her nine-year-old grandson. She died from her injuries. <\/p>\n

The dogs were not immediately confirmed as XL Bullies, but her daughter claimed they were the banned breed. <\/p>\n

People who already owned the breed when the ban came into effect were allowed to keep them as long as they had applied for a certificate of exemption by January 31, 2024.<\/p>\n

The dogs must also be neutered, kept in a secure place where they can\u2019t escape, muzzled and kept on a lead in public. Owners must be 16 or older and have third-party public liability insurance cover.<\/p>\n

It is illegal to breed, buy, sell, adopt, rehome or abandon the breed.<\/p>\n

While XL Bullies have made headlines recently, another dog breed has caused concern following an alleged rise in popularity \u2013 the cane corso<\/a> bred as a guard dog and not subject to a ban. <\/p>\n

Here is a roundup of all five dog breeds which are banned. <\/p>\n

Which dog breeds are banned in the UK?<\/h2>\n

There were 15 fatal dog attacks in England and Wales alone between 1981 and 1991 \u2013 so in\u00a01991 the government banned four breeds under the Dangerous Dogs Act.<\/p>\n

On February 1 this year, the XL Bully became the fifth breed to be banned. <\/p>\n

Banned breeds are managed by the\u00a0Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)<\/a>. <\/p>\n

XL Bully <\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"An\t<\/div>
XL Bullies are controversial due to several incidents linked to the breed (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The XL Bully is a type of bulldog.<\/p>\n

It was developed by breeding several dogs<\/a>, including the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Bulldog and English Bulldog.<\/p>\n

The US<\/a> Kennel Club \u2013 which recognises the breed \u2013 says that \u2018aggression is characteristic of this breed.\u2019<\/p>\n

It is thought the breed \u2013 of which there are four sizes; standard, pocket, classic, and XL \u2013 first appeared in the UK around 2014 or 2015 and numbers have since grown rapidly.<\/p>\n

Pit Bull Terrier<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Agressive\t<\/div>
Pit Bull Terriers are on the banned breeds list (Picture: Shutterstock\/Aneta Jungerova)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The UK\u2019s Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991 outlawed the possession and breeding of pit bulls.<\/p>\n

They were originally illegally bred as fighting dogs.<\/p>\n

Japanese Tosa<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"A\t<\/div>
Japanese Tosa dogs are bred in Japan to take part in dog fighting (Picture: Shutterstock \/ SubertT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although it is forbidden in the UK and many other nations, the Japanese Tosa is nevertheless bred in Japan to participate in dog fighting.<\/p>\n

In accordance with Japanese dog-fighting regulations, this breed is expected to be able to battle in total silence.<\/p>\n

Dogo Argentino<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"A\t<\/div>
The Dogo Argentino has been used for big-game hunting (Picture: Shutterstock \/ Lunja)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Dogo Argentino was developed for boldness and protective qualities as well as for big-game hunting.<\/p>\n

Due to these behavioural characteristics, the Dogo Argentino was outlawed in the UK.<\/p>\n

Fila Brasileiro<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Adult\t<\/div>
Fila Brasileiro breed has a dark past (Picture: olgagorovenk\/ Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A huge mastiff-like breed called the Fila Brasileiro was initially raised to chase down fugitive slaves from plantations.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact that they are fiercely devoted and protective, these dogs have a reputation for being hostile to both people and other animals.<\/p>\n

Can the police seize a banned dog?<\/h2>\n

The police or local council dog warden can take a dog \u2013 even if it isn\u2019t acting dangerously and there hasn\u2019t been a complaint.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t need a warrant in a public place.<\/p>\n

What is the penalty for owning a banned dog?<\/h2>\n

If an owner can\u2019t prove to the court that their dog isn\u2019t a banned type, or doesn\u2019t have an exemption certificate they can get an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to six months (or both).<\/p>\n

The dog will also be put down.<\/p>\n

Why do I still see Pit Bulls in the street?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s possible the dog has an exemption certificate. <\/p>\n

If a court decides the dog is not a danger to the public, owners can keep it and it can be added to the exempt list \u2013 but it has to be neutered, microchipped, kept in a secure places and on a lead with a muzzle in public.<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

XL Bully dogs are among the breeds banned in the UK after a string of attacks (Picture: Liverpool Echo) An escaped XL Bully was shot dead after it mauled and killed a pensioner in Warrington a year after the breed was banned. The 84-year-old died yesterday after he was attacked by the banned breed in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1793"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1803,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1793\/revisions\/1803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}