Experts warn XL Bully ban won't work because of 'vague' definitions

Experts have warned that the new XL bully ban won’t work because of the vague definitions outlined in the law will make it hard for to root out banned animals.

Under rules drawn up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and published today, it will be illegal to ‘breed, sell, advertise, exchange, gift, rehome, abandon or allow XL Bully dogs to stray’ in England and Wales from December 31.

Dog behaviour expert Stan Rawlinson told MailOnline the definition as laid out by Defra was deliberately general to encompass a wide range of dogs, given the XL Bully’s loose definition.

The dog is not a recognised Kennel Club breed, but is borne out of the bloodline of the American Pit Bull Terrier, purebreds of which are banned in the UK.

He also said the definition makes it ‘totally impossible to enforce because all someone has to do is get papers to say that a dog matching that description is not an XL Bully, and nobody is going to police this’.

‘This will encompass a lot of dogs – it’s going to be totally impossible to enforce because all someone has to do is get papers to say that a dog matching that description is not an XL Bully, and nobody is going to police this.

The breeding and sale of American XL Bully dogs will be banned by the end of the year – with a ban on keeping them without a certificate following in February

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Mr Rawlinson argued that the police have ‘no time’ to police and enforce the new ban which was promised by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak following a spate of high-profile attacks earlier this year, including the savaging of an 11-year-old girl and the death of a man in Staffordshire at the hands of two of the dangerous dogs.

‘The police have no time for it – they’re not coming out when people are getting burgled, they’re not going to come out for someone with a dog that looks like a mastiff to check if it’s banned,’ he said.

‘Nobody is going to admit that their dogs are of a certain bloodline and there is not a hope in hell of enforcing this. This ban isn’t going to do anything. Who’s going to enforce it? If you have any issues pertaining to exactly where and how to use Dog Pets, you can get in touch with us at the web site. Where are the resources?

‘This government, at the moment, is flailing, and wanted to be seen to do something about XL Bully dogs. It’s not enough to just say you’re going to make the streets safer.