For the first time ever, a certain dog breed will be prohibited in Ireland as of right now: it will be unlawful to import, breed, sell, and rehome XL bully type dogs, reports RTE.
The action is in response to many incidents involving the XL bully breed that have been deadly or seriously injured.
When Alejandro Miszan was nine years old in November 2022, he was attacked by an XL bully while playing with friends, resulting in serious face injuries.
August saw the hospitalisation of a baby girl who had been assaulted by an XL bully dog, reports RTE.
Nicole Morey, 23, was killed in June after being mauled by her own dogs, one of which was an XL bully.
Ireland would forbid the XL bully breed, according to a July announcement made by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys.
Dog behaviourist Nanci Creedon said, in an appearance on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, that she and many of her colleagues in the dog care sector do not believe that outlawing the XL bully will significantly reduce the likelihood of dog attacks.
“As dog behaviour experts, we understand that for every dog bite, there’s a reason, there’s a trigger, and the effective way of minimising dog bites is learning about the triggers and educating the public how to avoid those triggers,” she stated, reports RTE.
Ms Creedon voiced her anger at the absence of statistics on dog bites and assaults in Ireland.
“There is no process in Ireland to record that data and put the information together to see if there are correlations,” she explained, reports RTE.
Research by Ms. Creedon comparing dog attacks in Ireland from limited and non-restricted breeds was published in the Irish Veterinary Journal.
“What I found in that data unexpectedly was that the only statistical difference between the breed group of restricted dogs and the breed group of non-restricted dogs was whether or not the bite was reported,” Ms Creedon said, reports RTE.
When comparing medical care, the region of the body bitten, and the cause of the bite, the study found no statistically significant differences between breeds that were limited and those that were not.
“But what was statistically different was whether or not people went to report that bite to the dog warden or to the gardaÃ. We definitely do have a preconceived idea of certain dogs being more dangerous because of legislation and labels,” reports RTE.
Although a large, powerful dog like an XL bully might cause serious harm or even death, Ms. Creedon continued, there is a chance that the public may get “a false sense of pretence” from a list of prohibited breeds, believing that if a dog is not on the list, it is inherently safe.
Ms. Humphreys stated that she is aware that when the XL bully ban takes effect, careless dog owners who presently possess an XL bully may choose to adopt a different breed of dog.
“I have a stakeholders group and they have worked very closely with me on this and I’ll continue to engage with them. If other challenges appear down the road, well then they will have to be addressed at that stage. But in the meantime, the main attacks at the minute are from XL bullies,” reports RTE.
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