22 September 2023 , 16:56
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A controversial mass XL Bully march has made a second U-turn to its arrangements and now will allow puppies - but not full-grown dogs.
Organiser Jake Harris says dogs aged under six months will be allowed to take part at the gathering in Birmingham on September 30, which he hopes will not be sabotaged by misleading photos on social media. He said he initially wanted to see as many children and families as possible at the event, aimed at XL Bully owners and their pets in protest to the Government's announced plans to outlaw them after a spate of attacks.
Mr Harris then said no dogs would be allowed after an online backlash. He has now said, however, that XL Bullies which were still puppies would be free to be walked at the protest, to be held at an as-yet undisclosed location, reports BirminghamLive.
He told the BBC: "The simple fact is I don't want no camera taking pictures of a dog that's barking to go play with another dog because social media has this power to do numbers - they can portray this whole meet off one picture. So if you want to come and you want to bring a dog, bring a puppy. Don't bring no big, full-grown dog. It's not going to be one of them actual meets, it's turned into more of a protest."
Asked whether now was the best time for a gathering of XL Bully owners, Mr Harris said: "Because of social media and the platform it's reached now, there's no turning back on it - I'll be totally honest. I'm probably one of the only people that's managed to get somewhere with this kind of thing."
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Explaining how the walk was organised, he said: "This has been planned for about two, three months. It wasn't meant to be some big walk that has now blown all over the social media. This was literally just a few mates coming together to have a little Bully meet." Asked whether the response to the event had been positive or negative, he admitted it had been a "mix of both".
He continued: "Everyone has their own opinion on this breed but there are a lot of good opinions out there as well. If all goes to plan for Saturday, there may be people turning up with families." Mr Harris argued owners were the problem when it came to the XL Bully - not the breed itself. He said: "They're gentle giants, they're known as family dogs."
"Before the ban, most people weren't even scared of them". Mr Harris previously told BirminghamLive the meet-up was being organised because of the "need to show people that the XL Bullies are not the problem." He continued: "It's all about the owners - I've three XL Bullies and not one of them would hurt a soul. Yes they might look big and scary but they are big family dogs! I've my fingers crossed there will be a lot of families there." He added an exact location for the meet-up would be shared closer to the day. The advert hinted it would be held in the B20 area, which includes parts of Handsworth and Handsworth Wood.
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