THE Scottish Government has said evidence on whether American XL bully dogs will be banned in Scotland is being “carefully considered”.
It comes after the UK Government confirmed the breed would be added to the list of banned dogs from the end of this year.
However, this rule only extends to England and Wales and does not yet apply to Scotland.
The ban comes following a series of attacks by the breed, some of which have proven fatal.
Rishi Sunak announced last month his government would add the dogs to the Dangerous Dogs Act after describing the breed as “a danger to communities”.
New rules come into force on December 31 which will make it illegal to breed, sell, advertise, exchange, gift, rehome, abandon or allow XL bully dogs to stray in England and Wales.
From the same date, owners will also be required to muzzle the dogs.
It will also be illegal to own an XL bully from February 1 2024 unless it is on a list of exempted dogs.
The Scottish Government has not made a decision to ban the breed yet, although has said evidence will be reviewed.
A spokesperson said: “We are carefully considering the evidence as to whether changes to ban the XL bully dogs and breed will be applied in Scotland.”
Some critics have argued however that the XL bully is not strictly a breed and so would be difficult to define.
The Dog Control Coalition said it has “serious concerns about the very short amount of time in which owners have to comply with the rules”.
It added: “We are also concerned about the Department for Environmental Food and Rural Affairs’ definition of an American bully XL type, which is not only hugely subjective and open to interpretation for the individuals enforcing this legislation – creating a lack of consistency across the country – but it also places a burden on owners to interpret the guidance and determine whether their dog is or is not an ‘American bully XL type’.”
