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Britons have started handing in XL bullies to be put down, MPs told

www.theguardian.com Britons have started handing in XL bullies to be put down, MPs told

Select committee hears vets and animal rehoming centres could become inundated as owners seek to offload the dogs

Britons have started handing in XL bullies to be put down, MPs told
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23 comments
  • Yeah bolloks. 1st the law dose not come in for a year. So anyone putting dogs down now is not keeping them due to love. 2nd just like any other breed banned in the past. If you have one now. You are not required to put it down. Just register and keep the animal in a safe responsible manner.

    So no utter bollocks if anyone looking to put these dogs down now. Is very clearly not a responsible owner in any way shape or form. Unwilling to take even minimal care and responsibility for their pet. This is nothing more then a bullshit article designed to scare/insight readers .

    1. Breed bans never solve anything.

    2. Owners are having to do this so they don't risk losing their housing when the ban goes into effect. Since they can't be rehomed, there's no option besides euthanization or abandoning

    He said that in many cases, people were concerned about how owning a prohibited dog may affect a housing contract or tenancy agreement. “There is a risk these dogs will be dropped off or abandoned outside veterinary practices,” he said.

    Martin also said a number of vets would be uncomfortable destroying healthy animals at the request of their owners. “We are allowed to refuse to euthanise a healthy animal under our code of conduct and as a business, we support all our vets who refuse to euthanise a healthy animal. So I think we’re going to have significant problems,” he said.

  • It seems like a ban on imports and required spaying and neutering would be a less cruel solution. Then when you find dogs younger than the ban you could start talking about euthanizing them.

    • Also what the law requires. Nothing requires safe existing dogs to be euthenised. Just registered and kept in a safe manner.

      That said planty of people who are opposed to such laws. Are very willing to spend time talking to vets as a way to use the new law to avoid the responsibility of their own choice. Lets face it a few vest talking to MPs, is far from outside of the number of irrisponsible unprepared breed choosers unwilling to admit they made a mistake.

  • This is the best summary I could come up with:


    People are already handing in XL bully dogs, with some requesting that their pet be put down, after the announcement of an impending ban, MPs have been told.

    At a parliamentary evidence session before the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) select committee, witnesses said vets and animal rehoming centres could become inundated by people seeking to offload the dogs before a ban.

    Dr David Martin, group head of animal welfare for IVC Evidensia, a global veterinary care provider, said: “We are already getting clients presenting dogs asking for them to be euthanised because they’re concerned about the effects of a ban.”

    Rishi Sunak has announced XL bullies would be banned by the end of the year after a spate of serious attacks involving the dog type.

    A number of witnesses said the challenges of correctly identifying XL bully dogs – which are not classified as a breed but a type – would make implementing the ban difficult.

    Gaines said the RSPCA had left a government breed confirmation working group over concerns “about its approach and the potential for a large number of dogs to be involved than was actually originally intended.


    The original article contains 603 words, the summary contains 192 words. Saved 68%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

23 comments