After a spate of attacks by American XL bully dogs in the United Kingdom, the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday ordered urgent work to "define and ban this breed". Making a video announcement on X, formerly Twitter, Sunak said, "It’s clear the American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities. I’ve ordered urgent work to define and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe."
"It is clear this is not about a handful of badly behaved dogs, it is a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on," he further said in the minute long video.
Further, he said, "While owners already have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control, I want to reassure people that we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and protect the public."
The Prime Minister also said that the police and dog experts will work together along with the government to define the breed in order to ban them under the Dangerous Dogs Act, applicable in England, Wales and Scotland, by the end of the year.
Recently an 11-year-old girl was attacked by an American bully XL crossed with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier in Birmingham. Two men who went to her aid were also injured and needed hospital treatment, reported the BBC.
In another incident, a man died after being brutally attacked by two dogs outside a property in Stonnall, Staffordshire.
Almost all the dog attack cases in the recent months have involved the American XL bully breed.
According to the BBC, 8,819 people were admitted to hospitals in England with dog bites last year, and the number has been rising.
The Pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brasileiro are the breeds banned in UK. Dogs that share physical characteristics to banned breeds, such as cross-breeds, are also banned, reported the media house.