Ben Madilynn
From today, it will be illegal to import, breed, sell and rehome XL bully type dogs. This will be the first time ever that a specific dog breed will be banned in Ireland.
The move comes after a spate of high-profile fatal and life-altering attacks involving the XL bully breed.
In November 2022, Alejandro Miszan, then nine-years-old, sustained significant facial injuries after he was attacked by an XL bully while playing with friends.
A baby girl was hospitalised in August after being attacked by an XL bully dog.
In June, 23-year-old Nicole Morey was fatally attacked by her own dogs which included an XL bully.
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys announced the XL bully breed would be banned in Ireland the following month.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Humphreys said that she hopes the ban will gradually reduce the number of XL bullies in the country.
“My priority as Minister is to protect public safety and these dogs have been involved in a number of horrific attacks,” she said.
“We have seen a young woman brutally killed and a young boy left with life changing injuries.
“If we don’t take action now, we’re going to see more of these dogs coming into the country and I’d be very concerned that we would see an increase in the number of attacks because let’s face it, these dogs are bred to fight and that can cause huge damage in seconds.”
Dog behaviourist Nanci Creedon says that she as well as many of her peers in the dog care industry do not see a ban on the XL bully as being an effective way to minimise the risk of dog attacks.
“As dog behaviour experts, we understand that for every dog bite, there’s a reason there’s a trigger and the effective way of minimising dog bites is learning about the triggers and educating the public how to avoid those triggers,” she said.
Ms Creedon expressed her frustration at the lack of data on dog bites and attacks in Ireland.
“There is no process in Ireland to record that data and put the information together to see if there are correlations,” she explained.
“We definitely do have a preconceived idea of certain dogs being more dangerous because of legislation and labels.”
Ms Creedon has published research in the Irish Veterinary Journal comparing dog bites in Ireland from restricted and non-restricted breeds.
“What I found in that data unexpectedly was that the only statistical difference between the breed group of restricted dogs and the breed group of non-restricted dogs was whether or not the bite was reported,” Ms Creedon said.
The research did not find a statistical difference comparing restricted and non-restricted breeds in terms of medical treatment, the body part that was bitten or the reason for the bite.
“But what was statistically different was whether or not people went to report that bite to the dog warden or to the gardaí.
“We definitely do have a preconceived idea of certain dogs being more dangerous because of legislation and labels.”
Ms Creedon added that while a big strong dog like an XL bully is capable of significant injuries and fatalities, she believes there is a risk that a list of restricted breeds can give the public “a false sense of pretence” that if a dog is not on a restricted list, it’s automatically a safe dog.
Ms Humphreys said that she is aware that irresponsible dog owners that currently own an XL bully can switch to other dog breeds once the XL bully ban comes into effect.
“I have a stakeholders group and they have worked very closely with me on this and I’ll continue to engage with them,” she said.
“If other challenges appear down the road, well then they will have to be addressed at that stage.
“But in the meantime, the main attacks at the minute are from XL bullies.
DSPCA head of dog operations Tanya Clarke said that the upcoming ban on rehoming the XL bully is “really concerning for the dogs in our care.”
“We’re at a really, really tight time frame to get these dogs out and into homes and we’re concerned for the dogs that we won’t get into homes.”
Ms Clarke said the animal welfare charity is also worried that some dogs that don’t meet the technical definition of an XL bully as outlined by the Government will be “typed” as that dog breed.
“The general vibe is concerning,” Ms Clarke added.
The Government’s definition of an XL bully describes the dog in general terms as “a large dog with a muscular body and blocky head, suggesting great strength and power for its size.”
The definition goes on to specify the size of the dog at the withers and the typical characteristics of the animal’s head, body and legs.
Ms Clarke believes that basing the definition of an XL bully on size and not on genetics will make it very hard for animal shelters to determine what will count as an XL bully dog.
She gave the example of a box of puppies arriving at the shelter. “It’s just not clear enough, we’ll be looking at dogs kind of guessing is this one going to be typed or is it not”.
Diana is one of the dogs in the DSPCA looking for a new home, and although she fits many of the characteristics of an XL bully, she is 2cm too short at the withers to technically count under the Government’s definition.
“She kind of fits that stereotype of what you expect an XL bully to look like,” Ms Clarke said. Diana is a large bull breed with a heavy-muscled body and cropped ears.
Based off current Government guidelines, the DSPCA believes they will be able to rehome her after 1 October.
Ms Clarke also stressed that from her experience there is no ‘typical adopter’ of an XL bully dog. “We have all walks of life adopting all types of dogs,” she said.
Ms Humphreys said that she agreed that we have to have responsible dog ownership. She and Minister for Local Government Darragh O’Brien announced funding for 40 new dog wardens across the country to help with enforcement of this ban.
“At the minute, there has been a number of attacks, a number of fatalities and the XL bully has been the reason for that,” Ms Humphreys said.
“I’m very concerned that if we don’t take action now, there’ll be more people injured or killed in the future.”
An XL bully came about as a cross between a bulldog and an American Staffordshire terrier.
“It’s the human behaviour behind dog ownership that needs to change to see more safety in Ireland”
Ms Creedon said that XL Bullies do have “certain characteristics that are going to make them more dangerous,” explaining they are a cross breed of a guarding dog and a fighting dog.
“These breeds of dogs do require a different understanding … that’s not to say that makes them a worse dog than your average guard breed dog.”
Both Ms Creedon and Ms Clarke believe that increased public education on how to interact with dogs would increase public safety more than a ban on a particular breed.
“Reducing the number of dogs will always reduce the number of dog bites,” Ms Creedon said.
Adding that one way to eradicate dog bites in Ireland would be to ban all dogs.
However, banning one dog breed “is not going to solve the issue of people getting big, strong dogs and encouraging aggressive behaviours because they’ll just switch to a different breed.
“It’s the human behaviour behind dog ownership that needs to change to see more safety in Ireland.”
From 1 February 2025, it will be illegal to own an XL bully type dog without a Certificate of Exemption issued by the relevant local authority.
