American XL bully owners may be able to keep their dogs, chief vet says
The owners of American XL bully dogs may be able to keep their pets, despite the prime minister pledging to ban them following a series of attacks, the chief vet has said.
Rishi Sunak has said he will outlaw the animals under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be “in place by the end of the year”.
There are concerns, however, that defining a breed could be difficult because the dogs are cross-bred.
The PM’s announcement came after Ian Price, 52, was mauled to death by two dogs in Staffordshire on Thursday, in what police say was a suspected XL bully attack.
Ian Price died in a suspected XL bully attack. Pic: Staffordshire Police
Professor Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s chief veterinary officer, said arriving at a “consensus” on a definition will be one of the first things officials will do.
An “amnesty” approach would mean there would not be a cull of the dogs, Prof Middlemiss said.
“People that already have these dogs – and some of them will be well socialised, well managed, well trained – you will need to register and take certain actions,” she told the BBC.
“Your dog will need to be neutered. It will need to be muzzled when out in public and on a lead and insured.
“But if you comply with these actions, and that means we’ll know where these dogs are, which will be a massive benefit, then yes, absolutely, you will be able to keep your dog.”
Tex, an American XL bully
It is an approach which echoes that taken when pitbull terriers were banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act in the 1990s.
Lord Baker, who worked on the act, said XL bullys should be “neutered or destroyed” once the ban has come into force, with any permitted to live being “muzzled for the entire time”.
He also said it should be done “almost immediately because this is a very dangerous breed and it has actually killed children and attacked other people”.
The Tory peer told LBC: “This dog is, in fact, bred in order to fight and to be aggressive. It has already done enough damage.”
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Arrest after 11-year-old attacked by XL bully
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Groups including the RSPCA and the Kennel Club have said banning XL bullys will not stop attacks.
But Lord Baker said he did “not accept” those views.
Legal academic Dr Lawrence Newport said bans make a difference, and one has been “in place on pitbulls since 1991”.
He told Times Radio: “That ban has been very successful. And we know that because for example, in the UK, we have half the per capita deaths to dogs that the US does, and that difference is entirely explained by pitbulls.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he supported the ban but accused the prime minister of “dithering”.
He told broadcasters: “There has been a clear case for banning them for a long time. What I say to the government is good, get on with it, and the sooner we can do this the better.”
Police in North Wales said five people were reportedly bitten by a dog at Palins Holiday Park, Kinmel Bay, on Friday evening. “A man with a serious arm injury was subsequently taken to hospital,” officers said.
That dog is not believed to be an XL bully.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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