20 September 2023 , 16:09
632
0
XL Bully owners have been venturing into the countryside and even hiring private fields to walk their dogs over new fears they will be seized, a kennel owner claims.
Steve Constantinou claims pet owners with the breed - which are set to become a fifth banned breed later this year after being linked to a string of catastrophic attacks - have been travelling miles out of his nearest city of Birmingham. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's latest announcement on the breed has left owners "frightened to take their dogs out", with one woman even spotted "hiding behind a tree" as he walked his XL Bully.
Mr Constantinou, who runs Spartan Kennels in Coventry is one of the dog lovers against the ban, and is campaigning to see the decision overturned. He claims that, instead of banning the breed, ministers should "work towards a fair and effective licensing system for all dog owners".
He told CoventryLive: "A lot of Bully owners are hiring out private fields. There are a few around Coventry and a few around Birmingham as well. You can hire them fairly cheaply. I don't think it is fair they have to do that but they are." The trainer, who works in the Allesley area of Coventry, said he had been "inundated" with calls from XL Bully owners. "In the last 48 hours I have been inundated with Bully owners just calling me to ask questions, they are really frightened" Steve said.
Dog trainer Steve Constantinou says owners are to blame for attacks, not the breed (Steve Constantinou)"They are a brilliant breed and I think there has been so much in the media that portrays them in such a bad light. I have walked past the same woman everyday for a year with a dog, she even pet my dog, yesterday she hid behind a tree."
Girl, 4, mauled to death in dog attack pictured as neighbours hear mum's screams
One of Steve's XL Bully's was a large dog weighing around 65kg, and he said he understood why people may be scared - but that people's reactions were making owners feel unable to go out at all. "I took him (his XL dog) out yesterday and it just happened to be school time and parents were picking up their children to get out of the way," he said.
"It is horrible now. I feel like I am in a goldfish bowl and people just stare at me and my dog." Steve said that he worried that XL Bully dogs would not get the exercise they needed as owners were frightened to take them out in public.
Despite his anger over the ban, Steve said he understood people's fears. He added: "It isn't the dog, it is the owner, I have got five Bullies at the moment as I have three puppies. My dogs are extremely well-behaved, they are great when they are out, they are wonderful with children, they are an amazing guarding dog for my home. They are a brilliant breed."
He said he believed licences and mandatory training were key going forward, and within the first 24 hours of the government decision his phone rang red hot with worried owners. "I think I booked in maybe 30 Bullies and I know for a fact at least half have wonderful dogs and they are going to be well-behaved, and the owners are panicking.
The XL Bully breed faces becoming an outlawed breed under UK law (Getty Images)In a rare video statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, last week, the PM described the breed as "a danger to our communities, especially our children". He said: "Today I have tasked ministers to bring together police and experts, to firstly define the breed of dog behind these attacks, with the view to then outlawing it.
"It is not currently a breed defined in law, so this vital first step must happen fast. We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year. These dogs are dangerous, I want to reassure the public that we will take all necessary steps to keep people safe."
The shock announcement followed a spate of recent attacks, including one suspected mauling in which a man died. Ian Price, 52, died after an attack by two suspected American Bully dogs in Stonnall, Staffordshire, on Thursday.
An 11-year-old girl, Ana Paun, was also attacked by two XL Bullies in an attack at a carwash in which the dogs then also turned on two men trying to help. In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, the youngster and her mother spoke of their horror as they backed a campaign to revise the Dangerous Dogs Act. The Mirror launched a fight for action to protect people against dangerous dogs in November 2021. This year we renamed it the Jack Lis Law campaign in memory of the 10-year-old killed by a Bully in 2021.