When it announced the XL bully ban in England and Wales in late 2023, the government said 23 deaths had been caused by dog attacks since the start of 2021.
It said XL bullies had been “disproportionately involved”.
NHS consultant Richard Baker said their powerful jaws inflict more damaging wounds than those of other breeds, resulting in broken bones, shredded skin and damaged nerves.
“It’s a crushing or a tearing injury,” he said. “Once they grip, they don’t let go.”
In several cases, XL bullies are known to have killed their owners, including a woman in her 50s in London in May.
Other people killed by XL bullies include 68-year-old Esther Martin, 54-year-old Ian Langley, 52-year-old Ian Price, 65-year-old Ann Dunn, 17-month-old Bella-Rae Birch and 10-year-old Jack Lis.
However, there are no official statistics on the overall number of attacks by individual dog breeds.
The BBC sent Freedom of Information requests to every local police force in England and Wales.
The responses showed that in 2023, police recorded 30,539 offences of an out-of-control dog causing injury to a person or guide dog – a 21% increase on 2022.
Leave a Reply