Ozi Indian
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday announced that the American XL bully dogs will be banned following a series of horrific attacks.
“The American XL Bully dogs are a danger to our communities, particularly our children,” Rishi Sunak said, adding that he shared “the nation’s horror” over videos of recent dog attacks.
“This is not about a handful of badly trained dogs. It’s a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on,” Rishi Sunak said in a video posted on his official ‘X’ account.
The UK Prime Minister assured the public that his government was urgently working on ways to stop these attacks. Rishi Sunak said he has tasked officials to “firstly define the breed of dog behind these attacks with a view of outlawing it”.
“It is not currently a breed defined in law. We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the place,” PM Rishi Sunak said on Friday.
The announcement came in the wake of a series of attacks by the American Bully dog.
Last weekend, a girl was injured by one of the dogs in Birmingham. Two men who intervened during the attack were also injured, as per an Associated Press report.
Just days later, a man died on Friday after suffering multiple injuries in an attack by two dogs in Stonnall. The two dogs are believed to be American bully XLs, a BBC report said.
Campaigners have been calling for a ban on the particular dog breed, which was originally bred from the American pitbull terrier. They have a muscular build and a heavier bone structure than pit bulls. The bully breeds get their name because they were originally used in blood sports.
The UK has so far banned four breeds of dogs- the pitbull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the dogo Argentino and the fila Brasileiro.
