British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Friday that America’s XL bully dogs would be banned by the end of the year after a man was killed in another alleged attack on Thursday.
The announcement came less than a week after one of the stocky, muscular dogs was involved in an attack on an 11-year-old girl who was heading to the shops with her sister in the English city of Birmingham.
In announcing the plan, Sunak said he “shares the nation’s horror” over a series of serious dog attacks.
“It is clear that this is not a handful of poorly trained dogs, but a pattern of behavior that cannot continue,” Sunak said in a video message.
He said a man was killed in central England on Thursday in an attack involving a suspected XL bully dog.
Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
According to campaign group Bully Watch, which is campaigning for a ban on the sale and breeding of large XL bully dogs, the breed was responsible for more than half of all fatal dog attacks in Great Britain. -Brittany last year.
XL bully dogs originally descended from American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers and first appeared in the UK “around 2014 or 2015”, with rapid growth in recent years, the group said the country.
What does your dog’s breed say about his personality? Nothing at all
What does your dog’s breed say about his personality? Nothing at all
Sunak has asked police and experts to define XL bully dogs, a first step, he said, before he hopes they can be banned by the end of the year.
A number of UK animal welfare charities, including the RSPCA, said this week that banning certain dog breeds was not the solution.
In a joint statement, they instead blamed “irresponsible breeding, breeding and ownership” and said the government should instead focus on “regulations on dog control and promoting dog ownership and ownership.” responsible dog training.
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