XL bully dogs currently in pounds and dog shelters have been given a reprieve and will not need to be put down when a ban comes into force next week.
From October 1st there will be a ban on breeding, buying or importing XL bully-type dogs. The ban on rehoming them has been postponed until February 1st when all existing owners will have to be apply for a certificate of exemption if they want to keep their animals.
The ban on rehoming, which was due to come into place from next Tuesday, would have forced pounds or dog shelters to euthanise the XL bully dogs they had in their care as they could no longer foster them out or rehome them.
Pounds and dog shelters will now be given until February 1st to rehomes the XL bully dogs.
In a statement the Department of Rural and Community Development, which is implementing the ban, said it had taken the decision to postpone the ban on rehoming until February 1st. Shelters will also be allowed to export XL bully dogs until that date.
The decision was made “following engagement with animal welfare charities and shelters”, according to the department.
The Government has been lobbied by dog welfare charities since the Minister responsible, Heather Humphreys, announced the ban in July following a number of high-profile attacks.
In June, Nicole Morey (23), from Limerick city, was killed by one of her dogs. A 10-year-old boy in Wexford and a 12-month-old girl in Co Kerry were seriously injured by the animals. Just last week, an XL bully dog was put down in Dublin after attacking its owner, who ended up in hospital.
In a statement yesterday on Thursday when she signed the regulations into place, Ms Humphreys acknowledged that not everybody agreed with the ban, but she had taken it in the interest of public safety.
“I am concerned that if we do not take action now the number of these dogs in the country will grow and my fear is that these attacks will become more frequent.”
The Government announcement of the reprieve came just an hour after 22 XL bully dogs were shipped off on Thursday to Sweden from Ireland in advance of the ban.
Brenda Fitzpatrick of the Working Animal Guardians (Wag) rescue welcomed the reprieve and acknowledged that the Government had listened to them.
Ms Fitzpatrick said the ban announcement last July had left many dog shelter owners “on our knees with depression and anxiety” knowing that they would have to put down healthy dogs as of October 1st.
However, she said the four months may not be enough to ensure that the XL bully dogs currently in pounds and animal shelters will all be rehomed in time, though some will be. She called for the word “rehoming” to be taken out of the regulations so all the stray XL Bully dogs can be rehoused in time.
She stressed that there needed to be a national programme of training and socialisation everywhere for prospective dog owners and there needed to be curbs on “backdoor breeding” which became a lucrative trade during Covid-19.
Many XL bully dogs, now facing extermination, were bred during the Covid-19 pandemic, she said, and were later abandoned.
In Sweden there is no ban on XL bully dogs, but Swedish MP Fredrik Kärrholm said he would introduce a motion in the Riksdag (the parliament) to have the type banned.
Referencing the Irish Times story about the dogs being shipped to Sweden, he said on X: “After several serious dog attacks on children and one death, the XL Bully is banned in Ireland. Now, unfortunately, these dogs are shipped to naive people in Sweden.
“It’s only a matter of time before Swedish children get their faces torn off or killed by this type of dog.”
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