The UK should ban Brits from owning American Bully XL dogs, after a slew of vicious attacks, MPs have said. On June 15, Parliament heard the urgent call for the powerful canines to be banned. If the ban came into place, the American Bully XL would be the fifth banned breed in the UK.
The beasts have been responsible for a swathe of brutal killings in recent months, with one of the victims only one-year-old.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt said on the matter: “I think many people would be surprised to hear the volume of such attacks that do take place, and there has been a spate of them recently that have been incredibly shocking, and the result of owners not being able to control those animals.
“It is a very serious matter. I know the Secretary of State Therese Coffey is aware of these matters.
“As the next questions to her are not until July 6, I shall write on his behalf and make sure that the Secretary of State has heard it today.”
Veteran Tory MP Sir John Hayes said the hounds were “bred to kill” and should therefore be placed under legal restrictions. The mutts are closely related to the already banned Pit Bull Terrier.
Certain that something must be done, Sir John said: “Regretfully, the subject of dangerous dogs is salient again. Deep regrets of the most tragic events.
“Just last month, a 37-year-old man was killed in Greater Manchester.
“A 17-month-old, Bella-Rae Birch, killed last year. Just before that, a 10-year-old, Jack Lis.
“They were all killed by this so-called Bully Dog, the American XL Bully Dog.
“We need an urgent statement from the Government, not to debate this matter but simply to confirm that this bad breed, bred to kill, should be banned”.
Bella-Rae Birch, one, was sadly mauled to death by her dad’s American Bully XL at home in St Helens, only a week after her dad bought it in March 2022.
Jack Lis, 10, was savaged by an eight-stone dog called Beast in November 2021. Such was the scale of the brutality, his mum said that she had to identify her boy by a shoe, following the attack.
In August 2022, 34-year-old Ian Symes was killed with “catastrophic” neck injuries after a 52kg XL Bully jumped him. He had acquired the hound through Snapchat.
Jonathan Hogg, a 37-year-old father, was dogsitting the same breed for a friend when it fatally attacked him.
In March dog experts blamed the sharp rise in dog attacks on lockdowns and an increase in dog ownership.
Bill Lambert, a spokesman for The Kennel Club, told Express.co.uk that the Covid pandemic created a “perfect storm”, in which more people than ever decided to purchase a dog, despite not necessarily being well-equipped to adequately care for or raise an animal.
