Enforcing XL bully ban ‘placing huge burden on policing’
Enforcing XL bully ban ‘placing huge burden on policing’
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Enforcing a ban on XL bully dogs is placing a “huge burden on policing”, with millions of pounds spent on veterinary bills and kennelling, police chiefs have warned. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said kennel spaces were “reaching capacity”, with costs “increasing by the day”.
The policing body said veterinary bills and the cost of kennelling banned dog breeds had risen from £4 million in 2018 to more than £11 million between February and September 2024, adding it can cost around £1,000 a month to keep an XL bully in kennels.
The NPCC said the figure is expected “to rise to as much as £25 million” for the period from February 2024 to April 2025 – representing a predicted 500% increase in police costs from 2018. Since February, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets will be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted.
As well as the XL bully, other banned types of dog under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 include the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Brasileiro. Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, the NPCC’s lead for dangerous dogs, said the ban was placing “a huge burden on policing”.
The police officer added: “We are facing a number of challenges in kennel capacity, resourcing and ever-mounting costs, and as of today we have not received any additional funding to account for this. “We urgently need the Government to support us in coping with the huge demand the ban has placed on our ever-stretched resources.”.
