13 XL bully dogs put down in Cork since breed ban introduced

 A total of 13 XL Bully dogs have been put down in Cork since the breed was banned in October 2024.

Between October 2024 and October 2025, 10 XL Bully dogs were destroyed in Cork county and three in Cork city, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Nationally, 114 of XL Bully dogs were euthanised during the same time period.

Between October 2024 and October 2025, Fingal County Council in north Dublin put down 18 XL Bully dogs, the highest of any local authority.

Limerick has the second highest figure, with a total of 16 XL Bully dogs euthanised, followed by Louth with 11, Cork county with 10, Dublin city with nine and Waterford with seven.

A ban on importing, breeding, selling and re-homing of XL Bully type dogs came into effect from October 1 of 2024.

The regulations came following several high profile attacks by the breed, including the fatal attack on a young woman in Limerick in June 2024 and a serious attack on a boy in Wexford in 2022.

Earlier this week, a woman was treated in hospital following a reported dog attack in Co Carlow.

Gardai said a dog was euthanised by a vet at a residential property in Carlow town on Tuesday afternoon.

Since February 1 of 2025, it is illegal to own an XL Bully type dog without a certificate of exemption or proof of application for a certificate of exemption issued by the local authority in which the dog resides.

The certificate of exemption is unique to each XL Bully type dog and owner. It specifies the dog’s licence details, microchip details, neutering details, age and description. It also specifies the dog owner’s name, address, date of birth and contact number.

The cert is issued by the local authority and authorises the owner of an XL Bully type dog to keep that dog at a particular premises until the natural end of the dog’s life.

A total of 1,440 of these certificates have been granted to owners from October 2024 to October 2025, including 62 in Cork county and 49 in Cork city.

A spokesperson from the Department of Agriculture told The Echo:

“The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine collects and collates statistics in respect of a range of the dog control responsibilities of local authorities, including data on XL Bully Dogs since the ban was announced in 2024.

“The data provided is collated from local authority data only, it does not include data regarding animals that may have been euthanised whilst under the care of animal welfare organisations.”