American XL Bully owners have raised nearly £100,000 in a bid to fight plans to ban the breed of dog as they insist the animals have “done nothing wrong”.
Under legislation brought forward by Environment Secretary Therese Coffey, it will become illegal to sell, breed or abandon an XL Bully dog from December 31.
Once registered to the database, the animals will be required to be muzzled and on a lead at all times while in public.
WATCH HERE: PM vows to ban American XL Bully breed
Other draconian rules will force owners to neuter the animals, microchip them and force them to carry a certificate of exemption at all times which should be presented to police officers or council wardens when prompted.
XL Bully owners have banded together under a campaign to save the animals and beg Government officials to rethink plans.
Campaigners from Don’t Ban Me - Licence Me have raised more than £86,000 in their bid to raise money for funding a judicial review.
One owner Heather Halls and her husband Chris who supports the campaign, told The Independent: “They’ve never ever done anything wrong.
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The decision to ban XL Bully dogs came after a number of mauling attacks and deaths related to the breed, including 10-year-old Jack Lis and 17-month-old Bella-Rae Birch
Don’t Ban Me – Licence Me
“We’ve owned bull breeds for 10 years and they’ve never put a foot wrong, we’ve never had altercations in public, we have had nothing but a positive experience.”
Mr Halls also faces a danger to his livelihood as he is a professional dog trainer, with two of their XL bullies having been awarded titles in competitions.
“Essentially, our whole world and what we’ve worked towards in the last few years is about to get flipped on its head,” Heather added.
The decision to ban XL Bully dogs came after a number of mauling attacks and deaths related to the breed, including 10-year-old Jack Lis and 17-month-old Bella-Rae Birch.
An image of an American XL Bully Wiki Commons images/ DlexusSophie Coulthard, an organiser of the campaign group, says banning the breed “won’t stop dog attacks”.
She told the Independent: “The problem with this knee-jerk reaction is that it won’t stop dog attacks.
“We need to focus on licensing and educating owners, with compulsory training and tougher punishments to prevent people from impulse-buying dogs.”
