When the government announced that the XL bully was to be added to the list of prohibited types of dogs in England and Wales, owners were advised by the government to assess their dogs against the government breed standard and decide for themselves whether or not their dogs fell within the definition of an XL bully. Identifying prohibited types of dogs is something usually done by experts so not surprisingly, many owners found this a difficult task. The government advice to owners who were not sure was to err on the side of caution and apply to get their dog exempted and that if they were wrong, they would be able to apply to Defra to get their dog removed from the Index of Exempted Dogs at a later date. Defra have yet to release details of the procedure for getting an XL bully unexempted.
Our view is that the police will probably need to be involved and the dog will need to be examined by an expert police Dog Legislation Officer. If the police agree that the dog is not an XL bully then an application can be made to the Dogs Index for the dog to be removed from the Index. However, the police are currently very busy dealing with all of the XL bullies that missed the deadline for exemption as well as all the other dog related cases, so it is not likely that these cases will be given priority and it is never easy at the best of times for a member of the public to get in contact with a Dog Legislation Officer.
Our view is that a more proactive approach will be necessary. We will begin by arranging for an independent dog expert to examine the dog to determine if it is an XL bully. The expert will produce a detailed report with photographs, measurements and video evidence of the dog. If our expert finds that the dog is not an XL bully then we can contact the relevant Dog Legislation Officer, provide them with a copy of our expert’s report and invite them to carry out their own assessment of the dog. We can then make the application to Defra to request that the dog is removed from the Index of Exempted Dogs which means that all restrictions on the dog will come to an end.
Please contact us on 01442 242999 or at hello@wheldonlaw.co.uk if we can be of any assistance to you.