Welsh Government minister says XL Bully dog ban promise is ‘better late than never’
A Welsh Government minister has welcomed the announcement of an impending ban on ‘XL Bully’ dogs.
However, Minister for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths also highlighted how correspondence she previously sent to the UK Government calling for action on the issue had been ignored.
The topic was raised in the Senedd yesterday by Welsh Conservative MS Samuel Kurtz, who detailed how two in four fatal dog attacks involved the breed across the UK in 2021, rising to six in ten in 2022.
Since November 2021, three people have lost their lives because of XL bully dogs in Wales—two in Caerphilly and one in Wrexham.
Mr Kurtz requested a statement from Labour’s MS Griffiths in response to the recent announcement by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of his intention to ban XL bully dogs by the end of the year.
Ms Griffiths said: “I certainly did welcome it, but it’s better late than never. I’m really pleased the UK Government are at last finally taking action.
“Over the past probably six years, I’ve written to eight various Home Secretaries and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretaries of State, urging them to take some action.
“The last letter I wrote to Suella Braverman I think was in May; she didn’t even give me the courtesy of a response. I am very pleased that, now, the Prime Minister has made this announcement.
“The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, obviously, is not devolved, it’s a reserved matter, and the UK Government have set up a responsible dog ownership group to have a look at this, and my officials are working very closely with UK Government officials.”
She added: “I think the most important thing now is for my officials to work very closely with UK Government officials to make sure that there are no unforeseen consequences of the ban on XL bullies.
“We certainly don’t want to see a significant number of abandonments, for instance. So, we now need to drill down into the detail.”
The Minister said she would bring a further update to Senedd members in the future.
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