Charities in Merseyside fear they could be seriously overstretched by the upcoming XL Bully ban.
A local charity offering discounted neutering for the breed said it was inundated with requests from XL Bully owners. Neutering Animals in Merseyside said it was unable to cope with the number of requests which were double the amount the organisation could accommodate.
The ban was announced by prime minister Rishi Sunak after a spate of attacks involving XL bully dogs. Owners will need to register their pets, neuter and microchip them and keep them in a lead and muzzle when in public.
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Neutering Animals in Merseyside said it has now suspended its XL Bully neutering offer and pleaded with owners to stop contacting them with requests. On Facebook the charity said: “We are concerned we might not be able to get you all in before the New Year.” A charity spokesperson and registered veterinary nurse said: “We’re still getting requests but we’re trying to not advertise it and have paused it. If we carried on as we were, I don't know where we’d have ended up.” She said the charity is “already having to invest far more time to sort through everybody” despite being volunteer-led.
The spokesperson added neutering appointments before the end of the year could be hard to come by for all breeds. The existing “heavy workload” for vets may mean they struggle to fit in all XL Bully neutering appointments before the ban comes into place by the end of the year. As a result, neutering appointments could be cancelled to prioritise the breed with Merseyside impacted “more than other areas of the country”, according to the charity.
An operation manager from Freshfields Animal Rescue said: “We already have a high percentage that are XL, I can only envision it getting worse”. Rescues are unable to rehome banned breeds and, as Freshfields has a non-destruction policy, there is concern the kennels with be full with XLs leaving the charity unable to help other breeds.
The spokesperson said the ban will “overstretch the already overstretched” and that the “police, council, vets and rescues will get swamped and be left to pick up the pieces”. Many charities, including Neutering Animals in Merseyside, are offering free muzzle training to help owners as the ban comes into place in the UK.
A Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “We are taking quick and decisive action to protect the public from tragic dog attacks and the Environment Secretary has convened the first expert group to define the American XL bully breed type.
“This group brings together police, canine and veterinary experts, and animal welfare stakeholders to properly define the breed type – which is a fundamental first step to deliver the Prime Minister’s commitment to ban the breed.
“Defra officials will continue to deliver this work at pace and we will be setting out next steps shortly, including detail on any transition period.”