UK
Lancashire Police apologises after family’s XL bully put down due to ‘admin error’
A police force has apologised for putting down a family’s pet XL bully by mistake due to an “administration error”.
Lancashire Police said it had given them an “unreserved apology” for euthanising the seized dog, named Bruno, while the owners were in the process of applying for an exemption to keep him.
The force said: “In August we seized an XL bully dog from an address in Morecambe as part of our powers under the Dangerous Dogs Act as XL bully dogs are a banned breed.
“A file was being prepared for consideration of the owner being prosecuted for the relevant offences.
“However, unfortunately, due to an administration error the dog was subsequently euthanised before the court hearing.”
The force said it had introduced a process “to ensure the same mistake cannot be made again”.
Lizzi Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, told the BBC she wants answers over the incident.
“This should be a ‘never event’ and I have taken this issue up directly with the police,” she said.
The MP added: “I was shocked to see that a much-loved pet dog, Bruno, was wrongly euthanised whilst in police care.
“Processes should have been in place to ensure this never happened.
“There is a legal process when dogs are under police care and it appears this hasn’t been followed.”
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“I will continue to support the family and I appeal to the police to disclose how they are changing their practices so that this is something that can never happen again,” said Ms Collinge.
XL bully cruelty reports surge
The breed was banned at the start of the year after a series of incidents in which people were injured or killed.
The RSPCA said reports of intentional harm, neglect and abandonment dramatically increased in the first eight months of 2024.
It received 103 reports of intentional harm, an increase of 164% on the 39 during 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.