Information on XL bullies
Reminder that from 1 August it will be illegal to own an XL bully type dog in Scotland without an exemption certificate or having applied for an exemption certificate to own that dog. You must apply for a Certificate of Exemption by 31 July 2024 to keep an XL bully dog.
If you do not want to keep your dog after this date, compensation is available.
We are here to support both XL bully owners and people who are concerned about the XL bully types and the Government’s announcement.
Visit the Scottish Government website for more information.
From 23 February, anyone who owns an XL bully type dog in Scotland must ensure they are muzzled and on a lead at all times when in public, including in a car. From this date, it became an offence to breed, sell, exchange, offer as a gift, advertise, rehome, abandon or allow an XL bully dog to stray.
Is my dog an XL bully?
If you’re wondering whether your much loved pet is an XL bully type or not and what to do, please be assured – you can keep your dog.
Use the Scottish Government guide to check if a dog is an XL Bully.
If you're not sure after checking, you should follow these rules as a precaution.
The Scottish SPCA is NOT able to assess your dog against XL bully type.
Our statement on the Scottish Government XL bully ban - 23 February 2024
As of today (23 February 2024), the Scottish Government’s safeguarding measures with regards to XL Bully dog ownership in Scotland have come into effect. This means that anyone who owns an XL Bully type dog MUST ensure that dog is kept on a lead and is muzzled at all times when in a public place. It is also now an offence to breed or breed from an XL Bully dog, sell an XL Bully dog, abandon an XL Bully dog or let it stray or give away an XL Bully dog. Anyone breaching these rules could face up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
We continue to believe that safeguards that the Scottish Government has chosen to implement is not the solution to the issue when it comes to preventing dog control issues, but as a responsible charity, we will of course continue to comply with legislation that has and will be implemented.
We welcome the Scottish Government’s determination to work with the Scottish SPCA and other key stakeholders which includes the Dog Control Coalition of which the Scottish SPCA are members of to assess the impact of these restrictions being implemented.”
The definition for an XL bully dog will be the same as that used by the UK Government. If you’re not sure whether a dog in your care is an XL bully, use this guide to check.
We fully support legislation to protect the public, and we are deeply concerned about the rise in dog control related incidents, but the Scottish SPCA has long opposed restrictions that focus on Breed Specific Legislation.
We know that any breed of dog can be potentially out of control and dangerous in the wrong hands.
We will continue to call on the Scottish Government to work closely with the Scottish Sentencing Council when it comes to properly punishing anyone found guilty of owning a dog that has been involved in an attack.
And we will continue to call on the police and courts in Scotland to properly enforce existing legislation through jail sentences and automatic bans on dog ownership.
Now is the time for change. Now is the time to tackle the root cause of these issues: irresponsible dog ownership, and irresponsible dog breeding.
Our statement on the Scottish Government XL bully announcement - 18 January 2024
The Scottish Government has today confirmed that it will replicate the UK Government’s XL bully ban in Scotland, in line with legislation which has already been implemented in England and Wales.
In Scotland, this means that from the date of commencement of the ban, it will be a criminal offence to have an XL bully dog in Scotland unless it is on the exemption register. Any XL bully dog must also be on a lead and muzzled at all times in a public place, including in a private car.
The implementation will be in two stages. Firstly, all XL bully dogs will be required to be on a lead and muzzled, and it will be illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, abandon or let XL bully dogs stray in Scotland. The requirement to record dogs on the exemption register will follow.
Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent, Mike Flynn, said:
“Today is a sad day. We are very disappointed that the Scottish Government has chosen to implement these ‘safeguards’ in Scotland. As a responsible charity, we will of course comply with the Scottish Government’s decision, but we hope very much that they have learned from mistakes made by the UK Government in a number of areas. We are looking for workable, enforceable solutions.
“Scotland now faces the prospect of:
- Identifying dogs which fit the XL bully ‘type’.
- Caring owners worrying over the timescale, expense and process for exemption of beloved XL bully pets – and whether to keep their pets.
- Concerns from police and local authority teams responsible for enforcing this law, over lack of training and resources.
- Concerns from vets, some of whom may be rushed off their feet neutering the estimated thousands of XL bully type dogs in Scotland, in order to comply with the ban.
- Heartbreak from vets, rescue centres and their staff, who may face having to put to sleep healthy dogs, simply because of the way they look.
“Through all of this, we welcome the Scottish Government’s determination to work with us and other key stakeholders to help with the implementation and uptake of these restrictions. We also want to reassure Scotland’s caring owners that we’ll support you in this journey as much as we’re able.
“We recognise that the Scottish Government feel that they have had little choice in implementing these ‘safeguards’, but we are concerned that these regulations are being rushed through. We are reviewing next steps when it comes to XL bullies currently in our care. We fully support legislation to protect the public, and we are deeply concerned about the rise in dog control related incidents, but the Scottish SPCA has long opposed restrictions that focus specifically on certain types of dogs.
“We know that any breed of dog can be potentially out of control and dangerous in the wrong hands. We need action and solutions that protect the public as well as safeguarding animal welfare, but banning dogs because of the way they look isn’t the answer. We do not want to have the same conversation next year about plans to ban yet another type of dog.
"Instead, we will continue to call on the Scottish Government to work closely with the Scottish Sentencing Council when it comes to properly punishing anyone found guilty of owning a dog that has been involved in an attack. We will continue to call on the police and courts in Scotland to properly enforce existing legislation through jail sentences and automatic bans on dog ownership.
“Now is the time for change. Now is the time to tackle the root cause of these issues: irresponsible dog ownership, and irresponsible dog breeding. Will the Scottish Government listen to our plea? We hope so."
Statement from Scottish SPCA on the anticipated XL bully ban in Scotland - 15 January 2024
We are calling on the Scottish Government to ensure that the timescale and details of the XL bully ban in Scotland are workable and enforceable.
We expect the Scottish Government to confirm in a Ministerial Statement this week that the UK Government’s XL bully ban will be replicated in Scotland.
We anticipate that this will mean that from a date to be determined, it will be against the law to have an XL bully dog in a public place, including in a private car, without a lead and muzzle. It will also be a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in Scotland, as well as England and Wales, without a certificate of exemption from the date to be set in the legislation.
As a responsible charity, we will comply with the Scottish Government’s decision.
However, we are extremely disappointed that the Scottish Government has decided to implement this ban in Scotland, and we remain opposed to any ban on a specific dog type.
Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent, Mike Flynn, said: “The SSPCA has long opposed any legislation that focuses specifically on certain types of dogs.
“We fully support legislation to protect the public.
“We are deeply concerned about the rise in dog control related incidents, and have pushed for steps to be taken to protect the public. However, we know that any breed of dog can be potentially out of control and dangerous in the wrong hands, and we strongly believe there are much more effective ways of protecting public safety.
“We are therefore not in support of this legislation.
“We will be working with the Scottish Government in the hope that the ban in Scotland will be workable and enforceable, and handled better in Scotland than happened in England and Wales.
“In particular, we’re calling on the Government to put in place an effective public information and education campaign to help caring owners understand how to exempt their dogs.”
For this legislation to be practicable and enforceable, the Scottish SPCA urges the Scottish Government to:
- Ensure that any legislation is introduced with a sufficient transition period, to ensure that owners have the time and support needed to be able to exempt their dogs.
- Ensure that the teams responsible for enforcing this law - the police and local authorities - have the resources and training they need before the ban begins, to ensure that no more dogs than absolutely necessary become caught up in this.
- Ensure that there are clear pathways to financial support for owners to comply with the exemption in an already difficult economic climate.
- Build in sufficient time frames and support the vet profession in Scotland to ensure that they have the capacity to neuter the potentially thousands of dogs to comply with the ban, which risks owners and dogs being penalised.
- Work with rescue centres in Scotland whose staff face being forced to put to sleep pet animals simply because of the way they look.
Mike Flynn continued: “We are all heartbroken that some dogs may be put to sleep as a result of this Government action, and we are determined to campaign for meaningful change to best protect public safety and dog welfare.
“If the Scottish Government also believes in a “deed not breed” approach to managing the control of dangerous dogs, we are confused by their failure to target the real issue - irresponsible breeding and irresponsible ownership.
“The Scottish SPCA believes firmly that anyone found guilty of owning a dangerous dog that has been involved in an attack should be automatically banned for life from owning another dog.
“Our thoughts are with the families of those who have been injured or killed by dogs. We want to see an end to irresponsible ownership and low-welfare breeding practices, and will continue to campaign for proper enforcement through the police and Scottish courts.”
Scottish SPCA XL bully updated statement - 11 January 2024
The Scottish Government has indicated today that it will consider replicating the XL bully ban in Scotland.
As a responsible charity, we will comply with the Scottish Government’s decision.
We fully support legislation to protect the public.
We are concerned about the rise in dog control related incidents, and agree that steps need to be taken to protect the public.
However, we are disappointed that the Scottish Government has decided to take the same route as the UK Government.
We remain opposed to a ban of this type on a specific dog type, which we believe is not the most effective way to protect the public. Instead, we believe any breed of dog can be potentially out of control and dangerous in the wrong hands.
We believe that anyone found guilty of owning a dangerous dog that has been involved in an attack should be automatically banned for life from owning another dog. We will continue to call on the police and Scottish courts to enforce this under existing legislation.
The Scottish SPCA has not seen an increase in the number of XL bully dogs coming into our centres since the restrictions came into force in England and Wales.
What type of dog is an XL bully?
The XL bully is the largest type of American Bully. It is a cross-breed, which means it has been developed by people cross-breeding different types of dog. It is not a recognised breed by the UK Kennel Club. The XL bully has grown in popularity as a pet in recent years.
What is the Dangerous Dogs Act?
It is a piece of law introduced in 1991 which banned four types of dogs from being owned in the UK. These are the:
- Dogo Argentino
- Fila Brasileiro
- Japanese Tosa
- Pit Bull Terrier
The Dangerous Dogs Act outlaws any dogs which are determined to have been bred for fighting, or which have any characteristics of a breed which could have been bred for fighting. It is illegal to own, buy or breed a banned type of dog.
Why is the Scottish SPCA opposed to the Dangerous Dogs Act?
For 32 years, the Act has proven ineffective in reducing dog bites and attacks. If anything, they’ve got much worse. With more and more pets in Scotland, we believe the focus has to be on tackling bad breeders and putting more responsibility on owners.
Recent attacks by XL bully dogs have been tragic. We don’t support a ban, but that doesn’t mean we don’t recognise the need for urgent action to stop these attacks from happening and protecting the public.
If not a ban, then what?
Whilst many XL bully dogs are owned by loving families, there are people who own them as a status symbol. XL bully dogs are, in some instances, bred by unscrupulous breeders, and bad breeding practices is proven to increase the likelihood of behavioural and aggression problems in any type of dog.
Our concern is that, if we don’t tackle the root cause, these individuals will find a different type of dog to cross-breed, and we won’t solve the underlying problem.