American XL bully dogs are a danger to communities and will banned, Rishi Sunak has vowed, after a man was mauled to death.
Announcing the move, the prime minister said he “shared the nation’s horror” at such attacks and that it cannot be allowed to continue.
Mr Sunak was responding to the latest incident in which a man died after being savaged by two dogs outside a property in Stonnall, Staffordshire, on Thursday afternoon.
A ban of American bully XL dogs was already being looked at after shocking video footage emerged of an attack in Birmingham last weekend that left an 11-year-old girl with serious injuries.
In a video statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, the Tory leader said: “The American XL bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.
“I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw a another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.
“It is clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, it’s a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.
“While owners already have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control, I want to reassure people that we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and protect the public.
“Today I have tasked ministers to bring together police and experts, to firstly define the breed of dog behind these attacks, with the view to then outlawing it.
“It is not currently a breed defined in law, so this vital first step must happen fast.
“We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year.
“These dogs are dangerous, I want to reassure the public that we will take all necessary steps to keep people safe.”
But there is concern a move to prohibit the animal may not be practical due to the American bully XL not being recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club, which could mean any ban may inadvertently outlaw other kinds of dogs.
It has led to demands for an overhaul of the existing law, so it focuses “not on the breed but the deed”, or even for the wholesale legislation to be “sent to the knacker’s yard”.
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