XL Bully owners are desperately trying to get rid of their soon-to-be illegal dogs, online listings show.
The “dangerous” dogs are on sale for just £25 as people prepare for the Government’s incoming ban, which ministers hope will control the breed’s propagation in the UK following a spate of attacks.
Hundreds of adverts posted by owners looking to offload their pets have appeared online over the last 24 hours following the official announcement of prohibitions on October 31.
The Sun has reported finding more than 700 for sale on one website alone, with adverts popping up across the country.
Owners have championed their immense sizes and protectiveness – characteristics bred into the dogs that have seen them categorised as “aggressive” in recent months – as positives for would-be buyers.
One owner in Brentwood, a town in Essex, was looking for £75 for their XL Bully.
In the online listing, they said they received the pooch in poor condition, and, after nursing it back to health, it became the “best guard I’ve had”.
She said: “When I got him his skin wasn’t great and he wasn’t vaccinated or microchipped.
“I’ve done all those things now. He’s probably the best guard I’ve had – he’s really sharp and he’s also protective when out walking.”
XL bullies are favoured by people for their size and strength, and they are often bought as guardian animals.
Another owner selling their dog for just £25 in Swansea, Wales, warned it weighed “around five stone”, and had become “too heavy for us to walk”.
Qualities like these, while highly favourable for a guard dog, also mean they can be highly aggressive and uniquely suited to killing.
The breed has been credited with several attacks over the last year, convincing the Government to act via the Dangerous Dogs Act, which becomes law on February 1, 2024.
MPs have dubbed bullies “born to kill”, with legal academic Dr Lawrence Newport stating they are “uniquely dangerous”.
When the act is enforced, it will prohibit people from selling, abandoning, giving away, breeding and having the dogs in public without a lead or muzzle.
Anyone who breaches these rules without a Certificate of Exemption will face a criminal record and unlimited fine, and their dog will be seized.
