No XL Bully offences recorded in Bristol since new laws came in
A number of offences involving XL bullies were introduced earlier in 2024
by Estel Farell Roig · BristolLiveNo offences involving XL bullies have been recorded in the Bristol area since new laws involving the dog breed came into force earlier this year. A number of offences involving XL bullies were introduced earlier in 2024, including owning one without a certificate or breeding them.
The XL Bully is now classed a "dog bred for fighting" under law, like the pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brasileiro. Data released by Avon and Somerset Police under a Freedom of Information request showed that no crimes involving the XL Bully have been recorded so far this year.
Examples of offences include abandon a fighting dog, possess a fighting dog and breed or sell a fighting dog, among others. However, the force was not able to confirm if any XL Bullies had been seized ad it does not record a breakdown by breed.
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The force also said it was unable to find an offence of "attacks of ‘dogs bred for fighting'". Therefore, it is not known whether the breed has been involved in any attacks police were called to.
The news comes as police received hundreds of reports of dangerous dogs injuring someone in the first six months of the year. Avon and Somerset Police recorded 435 offences of a dog dangerously out of control injuring someone between January 1 and June 30 this year; which is an average of more than two offences a day.
Data released by Avon and Somerset Police shows reports of this offence has risen sharply over the past few years, from 95 in 2015 to 851 in 2023. The figures also show that, in the majority of cases, people attend for a voluntary interview (638 between 2015 and 2024) rather than being arrested (63 in the same time period).