Decapitated, floating in a cage and ‘left for dead’: XL bully cruelty reports surge since ban
Reports of intentional harm to XL bullies have soared since the breed was banned, with the RSPCA saying some have been “left for dead” in rivers and parks.
XL bullies were outlawed in England and Wales at the start of the year after attacks in which people died or were injured.
Since then, the dogs have been abandoned, neglected and even killed, according to the animal charity.
It said the body and head of a decapitated XL bully-type dog were found in a shallow grave in Evesham, Worcestershire, last month.
And last week, one dog with blood on its nose and around its mouth was found abandoned and tied up in a field in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
The charity’s welfare officer, Jess Barron, said they fear the dog was “left for dead”.
Tens of thousands of XL bully-type dogs were exempted by their owners and are now living under strict rules such as always requiring a lead, muzzle in public and being neutered.
The dog abandoned in Hitchin had blood on its nose and mouth. Pic: RSPCA
The RSPCA said that in the first eight months of this year it received 103 reports of intentional harm to XL bullies.
That’s an increase of 164% on the 39 in the same period in 2023.
There was also a 692% increase in reports of XL bullies being abandoned – 103 compared with 13 last year.
Reports of neglect also increased substantially, with 366 this year – up from 108 in 2023 before the ban took effect.
Recent incidents include:
• A dead XL bully with head injuries in a Middlesbrough park in June;
• A cage carrying a dead XL bully floating in a Birmingham canal, also in June;
• An XL bully puppy dead in a cage in Bexleyheath in January, with blunt force trauma to the head;
• Also in January, one of the dogs was found dead in a south London alleyway with a fractured skull
‘Increasingly demonised’
Dr Samantha Gaines, the RSPCA’s lead on breed-specific legislation, described the figures as “very concerning”.
“We’ve seen an increase generally in reports of serious abuse to animals – particularly intentional harm and beatings – but the increase in reports relating specifically to XL bully-types is very alarming and we fear this is a direct result of the recent UK government ban on this type of dog,” she said.
Pic: iStock
Read more:
Police apologise for putting down family’s XL bully by mistake
Scotland’s XL bully safeguards in full force
Man killed by his XL bully – as police shoot dog
“This could be a result of the extra pressures this ban has placed on desperate owners who may already be struggling to care for their dogs during this cost of living crisis,” Dr Gaines added.
“But even worse, these could be deliberate acts of cruelty towards dogs who have become increasingly demonised in recent months.
“We’re also heartbroken that many dogs have been and will be put to sleep simply because they are considered to be dangerous because they look a certain way.”
A woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann has pleaded not guilty to stalking the missing girl’s parents.
Julia Wandel, 23, is accused of making calls, leaving voicemails, and sending a letter and WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry McCann.
Wandel, from southwest Poland, is also accused of turning up at their family home on two occasions last year and sending Instagram messages to Sean and Amelie McCann, Madeleine’s brother and sister.
It is alleged she caused serious alarm or distress to the family between June 2022 and February this year when she was arrested at Bristol Airport.
She claimed to be Madeleine on Instagram in 2023, but a DNA test showed she was Polish.
Karen Spragg, 60, who is alleged to have made calls, sent letters and attended the home address of Mr and Mrs McCann, also denied a charge of stalking at Leicester Magistrates’ Court.
Wandel was remanded back into custody while Spragg, from Caerau in Cardiff, was granted conditional bail.
Both women are due to appear at Leicester Crown Court for trial on 2 October.
Karen Spragg arriving at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Pic: PA
Madeleine’s disappearance has become one of the world’s most mysterious missing child cases.
She was last seen in Portugal’s Algarve in 2007 while on holiday with her family.
Her parents had left her in bed with her twin siblings while they had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant in Praia da Luz when the then three-year-old disappeared on 3 May.
A man suspected of kidnapping Madeleine will not face any charges in the foreseeable future, a prosecutor told Sky News earlier this year.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway