Campaigners challenging the controversial ban on XL bully dogs have seen their Court of Appeal bid dismissed, upholding the government’s decision to add the breed to the Dangerous Dogs Act.
The group Don’t Ban Me, Licence Me, and the group’s director Sophie Coulthard launched legal action against the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) after owning an XL bully dog without an exemption certificate became a criminal offence in England and Wales in February 2024.
The law change meant unregistered pets could be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted.
Anyone holding an exemption certificate must also comply with strict requirements, such as microchipping and neutering their pets.
Campaigners argued the ban was unlawful, citing “unreliable” material, a lack of “proper” impact analysis, and “vague” standards that risked individuals unknowingly committing an offence.
While Mrs Justice Lang largely dismissed their challenge, she did find the Government failed to comply with its public sector equality duty (PSED) during assessments in September and October 2023.
However, she concluded the outcome would not have been “substantially different” as a correct assessment was later conducted in May 2024.
The campaign group subsequently appealed part of this ruling, but it was dismissed on Friday.
In a written judgment, Lord Justice Singh, sitting with Dame Victoria Sharp and Lord Justice Warby, clarified the legal position.
He said: “The judge held that the Secretary of State had breached the PSED before the orders were made but she did not hold the orders were therefore ‘unlawful’. In fact she held the opposite, since she refused to quash the orders.
“The consequence in law is that the orders are valid and were valid in the period between February and May 2024.”
At least six out of 10 fatal dog attacks in the UK in 2022 involved an XL bully.
According to Bully Watch, a group set up by a group of dog owners to monitor the breed, XLs were responsible for 45 per cent of dog attacks on humans and other dogs in 2023 before the ban came into force.
American XL bullies are closely related to the pit bull terrier and have been cross-bred with other breeds such as English and American bulldogs.
The breed was the fifth type of dog prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act in the UK, alongside the pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, dogo argentino and fila brasileiro.
It is against the law to own, breed or sell dogs on the list drawn up by Defra.
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