A farmer has lost more than £14,000 worth of livestock after two XL bully dogs ran amok on his land and killed 22 sheep and injured dozens more.
Both dogs were shot dead by the owner of the farm, near Wrexham, North Wales, after they escaped from their home and began attacking livestock.
Police said the brave farmer was confronted with a “horrific scene” as he tried to get the dogs under control. Despite several attempts he was forced to open fire when one of the animals became aggressive towards him.
The owner of the dogs admitted to an offence of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and has since been ordered to pay £900 in fines.
Sky News reports David Hughes, 26, from Rhosllanerchrugog, North Wales, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday last week where he also admitted to an offence of being the owner of dog worrying livestock. He was banned from keeping dogs for five years.
PC Chris James, from North Wales Police, welcomed the result of the court case and said the victim was still “still suffering the effects of the incident today”.
He said: “The emotional and financial impact on the farmer has been considerable.
“Livestock attacks are extremely distressing not only for the animals, but for their keepers too. The costs, both financially and emotionally, for such distressing incidents are wholly unacceptable.
“A dog’s owner is the only person who can prevent an attack from happening, and you may have to pay the ultimate price if you cannot control your animal.”
XL bully dogs have faced increasing scrutiny in recent years as it emerged the powerful breed had been responsible for half of all dog-related fatal attacks on people between 2021 and June 2023 in the UK. A tragic number of those killed have been children.
In 2021, an XL bully or American bully was identified as the animal responsible for killing 10-year-old Jack Lis who was mauled to death in Caerphilly, South Wales.
In June this year Conservative MP Sir John Hayes raised the issue of XL bully dogs in Parliament as calls for the breed to be banned have mounted.
