Sunak has given ministers the task of having police officers together with dog experts characterize the American bully XL, a cross which is not accepted as a separate breed by either the kennel club in Great Britain or the one in the United States, he writes on social media.
“It’s not currently defined as a race, so this important first step needs to happen quickly,” says Sunak on X (formerly Twitter) and continues:
“We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and that will come into force at the end of the year”.
Public pressure on the government to act has been high since an 11-year-old girl was attacked and seriously injured by an American bully XL in Birmingham on Saturday. On Thursday, a man died after being attacked by a dog that may have been an American bully.
Four dog breeds are currently banned in the UK: pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, dogo argentino and fila brasileiro. American Bully has come about by combining breeds such as American Pitbull, American Bulldog, English Bulldog and Amstaff.