You can find a recording of the webinar held on Sunday 19th November here.
The panel consisted of Doglaw specialist Solicitor Trevor Cooper, together with us at Deed Not Breed (Andrea Phillips and Mel Rushmore), Battersea (Mike Webb), the RSPCA (Dr Sam Gaines) and a dog warden (Michelle Ikin)
This post contains some of the most frequent general questions we are being asked currently and our responses to them which whilst not constituting legal advice, will hopefully help owners of dogs which may be caught up in the addition of the XL Bully to the list of dogs prohibited under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. If you have a general question that is not included below then please feel free to message us or post in the replies to this post and we will add it to the post with a response. We cannot give the answers to some questions that are individual and dependent on the circumstances, so in those situations please contact us directly in order that we can have access to all of the information we might need regarding your situation in order to provide the best advice possible.
Please can we ask that only questions are posted on this post in order that we can deal with them efficiently, as you can probably imagine we are also running the helplines and are very busy so it would make it much easier for us if all questions are on one post and the post contains only questions. Thank you in advance.
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We are really concerned about the, albeit well-intentioned, misinformation currently doing the rounds on social media and for the impact this might eventually have on the owners of XL Bully types and, more importantly, on their dogs.
There are many, many, posts telling people not to apply for exemption, mainly based on two reasons, one being a debate to be held on 27th November and the other being a Pre-Action Protocol Letter which has been sent to the government, this is the first step to applying for Judicial Review.
The Debate
The debate scheduled for 27th November in parliament which, it is being claimed, will rediscuss the Bill, and the posts we have seen also indicate is an appeal against the Statutory Instrument currently laid before parliament adding the XL Bully to the list of prohibited breed types and that it could amend, or even do away with it completely meaning you would not need to exempt your dog.
THIS IS NOT THE CASE This is not a debate or a vote on whether or not to ban the XL Bully, it HAS been banned (effective 31st December 2023) and the Statutory Instrument is currently laying before a parliament with cross-party support in favour of it.
The debate on the 27th November is about the E-PETITION to the government requesting them not to ban the XL Bully and also at the same time the petition to repeal the current Dangerous Dogs Act and replace it with a new framework.
Both of these petitions got over 100,000 signatures and Government petitions which reach 10,000 signatures qualify for a response and at 100,000 signatures are considered for debate which in most cases is granted, as it has been with these two.
The government response to the XL Bully petition is plain for all to see. Long after the petition reached 100,000 signatures they issued a statement announcing they were to be banned and have since laid the Statutory Instrument before Parliament that does just that.
The response to the second petition regarding repeal of the DDA received a response from the government in which the government said,
“We recognise that some people are opposed to the prohibitions placed on the four types of dog under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. However, the Government must balance the views of those who want to repeal or amend breed-specific legislation with our responsibility to ensure that the public is properly protected from dog attacks. We currently have no plans to repeal the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and replace it with a new legal framework.”
THIS DEBATE WILL CHANGE NOTHING, it can’t. As the attached screenshot from the UK Parliament website confirms “Petitions debates can’t directly change the law or result in a vote to implement the request of the petition. They can help to raise awareness of the issue among MPs and the wider public, and put pressure on the Government.”
The definition has been updated today with pictures and information regarding the minimum height of an XL Bully. You can read the updated version here
More information can be found on the Government website here
Dogs Trust have changed their membership to Companion Club. This is what you now need to join in order to get the benefits previously included in membership including the third party liability insurance required to exempt a dog. Existing members can swap over to companion club and people looking to join for the first time can do so using the link provided below. Nothing has changed for those with exempted (or soon to be exempted dogs) third party liabilty is still included and the cost to join is the same. Follow the link at the bottom of the page to join online
We are receiving a number of calls from owners wanting advice on DNA testing their dogs to use as proof that they are not XL Bullys, and also seeing many posts on social media suggesting this as a route to take. Wisdom Panel are one of the main companies offering DNA services and we would like to point people to its terms and conditions regarding its use and limitations posted below. We have also reposted the section in the government guidance regarding DNA. Please consider carefully before deciding not to exempt based on DNA results, if you miss the deadlines to exempt, then you and your dog could well end up on the wrong side of the law and facing seizure and court action. (Click on the images below for more information)
We have been asked numerous times by people in the pet industry such as dog walking, dog sitters and daycares who currently accept xl bullies about their insurance not covering them for banned breeds as a result of also being asked this question Pet Business Insurance have clarified the situation for their clients (thank you Diane Robinson for the info) If anyone else in the pet industry has also had clarification from other companies that they WILL cover businesses that take Xl Bullies we would be very grateful if they would post the company name/policy here to assist others seeking to ensure they are still covered to accept XL bully thank you in advance
You can read more about the history of Deed Not Breed and how we help people here
