Gardaí confirm growing trend of XL Bully dogs being abandoned

Sarah Slater

Gardaí have confirmed there is a growing nationwide trend of XL Bully dogs being abandoned.

Two stray XL Bully dogs were captured by gardaí and a dog warden in Kilkenny on Tuesday.

The dogs, who were believed to be abandoned, were found in Castlecomer in the north of the county.

A Garda spokesperson explained that two officers, along with specialist help and a county dog warden, took the dogs in early on Tuesday morning.

A Garda statement outlined that the dogs were “placid” but one of the animals was very “large and heavy” and it took some time to get them into a Garda vehicle.

Speaking on KCLR 96FM, Garda Andy Neill explained: “It’s not yet known if [they were abandoned] in this instance, or if the pair escaped from their home somehow.

“We can’t establish [that] in this case. It’s indeed a possibility, but nationally this is a trend. We can’t say we’re certain they were dumped, but we can say this is ongoing, it’s very serious”.

The trend follows a fatal incident earlier this month when 23-year-old Nicole Morey from Limerick died after being mauled by one of her own dogs, which was an XL Bully. It was subsequently destroyed.

Currently, no dog breed is banned in Ireland – unlike in Britain, where it is a criminal offence to own an XL bully unless the owner has a valid exemption certificate.

However, there are a number of breeds in Ireland, XL bullies among them, that are restricted.

The breeds include American, English and Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Mastiffs, Doberman dogs, German Shepherds, Japanese Akita and Tosa, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and Rottweilers.

Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys said she was very conscious of public concern over dog control and pointed to a stakeholder group she set up three months ago to examine the current rules.

The Minister said she has asked them to look at whether “we should follow the example in Northern Ireland in the UK and what I can clearly say is if they recommend to me that we should ban a particular breed, I'm happy to do that.”

Any recommendations that are made by that stakeholder group will now be closely scrutinised.

Legislation restricting the ownership of XL Bully dogs in Northern Ireland will come into effect next month.

From July 5th, owners must ensure their dog is muzzled and on a lead when in a public place. Selling, gifting, exchanging or breeding from an XL Bully-type dog will also be banned.

It will become an offence to own an XL Bully without an exemption certificate from December 31st. Owners who wish to keep their dogs must apply and pay for an exemption certificate from that date.