29/12/2023
This beautiful girl is called Olive and she is one of our most loveable, friendly and playful dogs that we have on our team. On our last working week before Christmas, Olive had her last freedom walk with us where she could be her happy care-free self because from the 31st of December, Olive will have to be muzzled and kept on lead in public simply because of the way she looks.
I'm sorry that this isn't my usual happy-go-lucky Facebook post as I am about to get very, very real with you about the ban on XL Bullies and the catastrophic affect that this is going to have on our dogs, our humans and our animal professionals. If you don't know me, I think it's important to point out that I am not commenting on this issue simply from a personal angle but also from my professional experiences after both studying and working with dogs for over 15 years.
The government have not consulted experts when they made the choice to ban this breed, the RSPCA have been campaigning for years to end Breed Specific Legislation and if you speak to anyone who actually works with dogs you will find that absolutely none of us agree with this ban. It is absolutely horrendous that people have died as a result of dog attacks, it truly is, but banning the breed isn't the answer. If it worked, we wouldn't be in this position because all the banned breeds of the past would have already fixed the problem. It just takes a powerful dog to fall into the wrong hands and the outcome will always be bad but the blame doesn't lie with the dog, it lies with the handler. Take my dog for example, she is a rescue from Romania with no definitive breed and when we adopted her she was extremely reactive and, yes, dangerous. She is a big dog and an attack from her would be fatal. After lots of training and love she is now an absolutely wonderful, friendly dog but that's because we (her handlers) wanted her that way and our dogs learn behaviours from their handler and their environment. But if she didn't come to us and she went to someone who didn't have such good intention? Well, she would have listened to them just as she has done with us and the outcome would have been very different.
Being a "Type"
The first point that I'd like to make is the absolutely frightening point that, because an XL Bully wasn't a recognised breed in our country, the government have made up their own rules on what an XL Bully is. The government have released guidelines of characteristics and measurements of what they believe an XL Bully dog should look like and measure, which are extremely broad. This means that regardless of any papers that show that your dog is, for example, a Rottweiler X Labrador or an American Bulldog, if your dog fits these measurements and characteristics it WILL be classed as what Breed Specific Legislation refer to as a "type". So, yes, as absurd as it is, as long as the dog ticks these specific boxes, it is an XL Bully and no amount of official papers stating otherwise will help you.
What happens on December 31st?
Regardless of the dog's temperament, when the ban comes into play, it will be illegal to own an XL Bully without an exemption certificate. This basically means that owners of XL Bullies can still keep them, they just need to follow very strict protocols that include keeping their dogs on lead and muzzled at all times while in public. They also can't breed them (which is actually good news because we have far too many dogs in rescues as it is). Originally, the ban stated that it would also be illegal to to SELL or REHOME an XL Bully but after much backlash and campaigners from "Don't Ban Me, Licence Me" have been fighting the ban in court, dog rescues can re-home XL Bullies with an exemption certificate. This is a small win, but it's a win, otherwise these dogs would have been put to sleep.
Who does this affect?
Animal Rescue workers-
I worked in rescue myself and I still have friends that do, meaning that I have dealt with BSL before and seen friendly, wonderful dogs being measured up because they look "type". Once the ban was announced, rescues all around the country were inundated with XL Bullies dumped on their doorstep or left wandering the streets by owners who would not step up to the plate or who were just extremely scared after the government's bomb shell announcement, putting enormous pressure on rescues during such uncertain times. Working in rescue is something that you just cannot explain to someone who hasn't done it. The bonds that rescue workers form with the dogs in their care is something so unbelievably special I cannot put it into words. These rescue workers will have put weeks and months worth of work into these beautiful dogs. They will have been loved, fed, cared for and, most importantly, had their behaviour ASSESSED in order to be re-homed. These rescue workers will have built unbreakable bonds with these dogs and they will KNOW them. Properly know them, just as you do your own dog. As I said above, the guildlines for XL Bullies in rescue only changed THIS week so the unbelievable stress and fear that this has caused amongst rescue workers has been unmeasurable. Trying to re-home a banned breed will be extremely difficult, with the stigma and the rules and the regulations, it will be so hard to find an owner willing to put all that extra effort in. This means that these dogs will stick for a very long time and then, ultimately, they will develop behavioural issues due to their extended stay in an environment that will never quite be suitable, meaning that some rescues might be forced to put their XL Bullies to sleep anyway due to being un-rehomeable.
Veterinary staff-
Having worked in a veterinary practice myself and having many close friends still working in the industry, I can't even begin to explain to you how this ban will affect them. Vets and nurses come into their line of work because they want to help animals, not to put healthy dogs to sleep because our government have forced them to do so. The impact that this will have on them is unimaginable. Staff from the veterinary industry have one of the highest rates of su***de and it's easy to see why.
The owners-
Well, put yourself in their shoes. Imagine if tomorrow you wake up and your dog's breed was made illegal, how the hell would you feel? How would you cope? The emotional distress that this has caused has been absolutely catastrophic for some owners who have had to scramble to ensure that they have all the procedures in place before the ban comes in (along with spending hundreds of pounds to do so). Being the owner of a large breed dog always comes with judgement from those who don't understand but now they will have a literal target on their backs, all while trying to adjust their dog to their new, restricted way of life.
The dogs-
Worst of all is the dogs. Us humans can discuss this with one another, we can seek advice and help and a shoulder to cry on. But our dogs don't understand. If they are lucky enough to have an owner that follows the exemption process and their not simply put to sleep, they won't understand why they have been forced into a muzzle and kept on their lead. They won't understand why they can no longer run and play with their friends, why strangers will cross the road rather than saying hello, why other dogs will lunge and bark as they walk past because they can't read their facial expressions and see that they just want to say hello like they used to do. The dogs' lives will change literally overnight and their owners can't even explain to them that it isn't their fault and they're not a bad dog, they're just being punished for a crime they didn't commit.
Why I think the ban isn't the way forward.
Anyone who asks me what my favourite breed is will always get the same answer- I love a gangly, stupid bull breed. In my eyes they are the best dogs and I have come to that conclusion after working with dogs for over 15 years, after learning and experiencing dog behaviour in my profession every single god damn day. Of course dogs are dangerous. My personal opinion is that we really don't need dogs to be so big in the first place because when they fall into the wrong hands, bad things do happen. Any dog can bite you but only a big dog can seriously injure or even kill you. It's just a fact that a chihuahua isn't going to do as much damage as an XL Bully but that doesn't mean the breed is unsafe, it means the way we handle dogs and owners in the UK is unsafe. If we stop breeding these dogs we stop the problem at it's source. Make owners have licences to own a dog, make every owner take a test to ensure they understand dog behaviour before they're allowed to buy or rehome a dog, EDUCATE owners on safe dog ownership. These things WOULD work! But banning a specific breed won't, it will just force these poor dogs into underground breeding dens where the wrong kind of people will keep them just because of their illegal status. Dogs are not what they used to be, myself and my friends in the industry have seen an absolute enormous rise in behavioural issues amongst dogs and uneducated ignorance amongst owners. The problem is only going to get worse without a real solution that doesn't involve blaming a breed for a human problem.
In conclusion, I'd like you all to know that we will still be continuing to walk the beautiful Olive and any other XL Bullies that come our way because we always have been and always will be, accepting of every breed of dog.
โจ WE ARE XL BULLY FRIENDLY BECAUSE XL BULLIES ARE FRIENDLY โจ
One of our fellow dog walkers have kindly offered us the use of their enclosed field so that we can still give Olive the playful, happy walks that she deserves but please, please do not judge her if you come across her wearing a muzzle. She is beautiful and kind and she doesn't deserve this treatment, none of them do. Thank you for reading and for supporting ourselves and Olive's owner at this time.
- Auntie Rach