A year into the XL bully ban, one thing is clear: it is not the solution to dog attacks | Elle Hunt

CAll this is a story of two puppies. You can tell a lot about Britain in 2020 by looking at its specific “designers” dogs: Cavapoo (or Spindle, or any other anxious clips), and American XL programming.

Both were launched in popularity with an increase in dog ownership During the epidemicThe claim Unduceive breeder To take advantage of the request; Both are widely raised to determine the priorities of the appearance in a good character or good health. In their cartoon contradiction, both may be seen as a symbol of our relationship with dogs in recent decades. One of them is treated on PuPuccinos and trips to the pub, while the other demon was as a killing machine.

Saturday was 12 months since it became Criminal To own XL Bully (without an exemption certificate) in England and Wales. It was legislation He passed in December 2023After a series of attacks and dangerous deaths. Now it is illegal to buy exempt, sale, sale, abandonment, or generate dogs of this type, while exempt dogs should be filled with standing at outside the home. Hundreds of Fatwa XL It has been extinguished since the ban, and more than 55,000 They were granted Exemption certificates, which reflects the effort to accommodate responsible owners. The question now is whether the audience is safer as a result. From nine deadly dog ​​attacks It was mentioned in England and Wales Since the ban was presented, five involved in XL – but all of them occurred in private homes.

If the ban protects even one person from harm, it may be worth it. However, after twelve months, there is not enough data to be known, while the ban was clear Confusion And creation An additional police workVeterinary doctors and animal care organizations. At the same time, dog attacks (of any kind or strain) are Continue. This is not necessarily a surprise: the bites of hospitals were steadily rising Since 1998Despite the law of dangerous dogs.

It clarifies the serious restrictions of the law in addressing the general threat to the general health represented by dogs. Animal Care organizations, veterinary bodies and experts have long opposed the measuring legislation on the basis of this The strain is not a strong indicator From aggression. This focus on the type (It is often boiling, in practice, how the dog appears) is not only misleading and unfair; It distracts attention from other measures that may effectively reduce bites and enhance the harmony of the human dog in general, such as Genetic test To identify animals with the risk of inheritance of the aggression.

In 2023, the government was established A working group responsible for ownership of dogs to explore how the UK can turn into a preventive approach, with a focus on “action, not generation” – but a source from that group told me that this preventive action has lost all momentum with the debate about the XL fatwas, and the government was not recommended New. By appearing to act categorically against the issue of “Dangerous Dogs”, the XL Bully Ban has briefly discussed the need for control of dogs and ownership. Under the current approach, we do not even understand the size of dog bites and any already responsible breeds, not to mention their players or causal factors.

The groups on both sides continue to call for increasing the details and centralization of the data governorate on dog attacks to allow the analysis and prevention based on evidence. Meanwhile, the XL Bully owners’ ban, their family members and visitors to their homes may put in a greater danger.

David Martin, head of animal luxury in the IVC Evidensia veterinary veterinary group, is concerned that exempt dogs – required to be a wheel in public places – do not receive sufficient exercises, leading to behavioral problems. Ozl also increases heat stress, which is another risk factor for aggression. Martin says there is a heat wave this summer, “we may face issues.” Meanwhile, according to what was stated, the demand for the frightening “status dogs” turned into the cane and the ancient shepherds and Caucasian shepherds, just as the XL Bully hole gave the hole. Within five years, will we prohibit these too?

We can continue to play What-A-Glle with different dog breeds, only after serious attacks-or we can back down, and we count with the presence of this relationship. In recent decades, and Especially since the epidemicDogs turned from the Companions to commodities. The result is an enlarged recognition of what all dogs need to live harmonious alongside humans – adequate daily practice, socialization, consistency, routine, respect – and random commitment to provide it.

accident RSPCA report makes A set of recommendations to improve dog control and enhance a “culture of care and compliance”, including ownership license, trainers ’adoption and general education campaigns on how to identify the signs of aggression. Above all, it describes the need for “stove, behavioral and cultural” change, where all dog owners – not only from controversial breeds – “understand how to gain their pets, care and control appropriately.

Certainly, this will be different for Cavapoo and XL Bully – but the consistent foundation must be their respect as animals, and for animal letters. If we are serious about preventing attacks and deaths, we cannot continue to sort the “good” strains of “bad” as if we had no role in their actions or behavior. Although we may deal with them as the symbols of the condition, alternative children, soft games or testosterone’s granules, dogs will be dogs. If you want to improve control, start looking at ownership.