Number of XL Bullies seized and put down has quadrupled - check your area
The number of American Bulldogs and XL Bullies that have been seized by police has quadrupled as a new map shows what areas has taken the most action.
It comes as the government imposed new legal restrictions on XL Bullies which came into effect this week, following a string of deadly attacks across the UK. Now, all owners are required to keep their canines on the lead and muzzled when in public. Brits have also been blocked from breeding, selling and advertising the dog, among other restrictions.
The Mirror filed freedom of information requests to every police force in the country. In total, 35 forces offered statistics, however, only 15 provided a detailed breakdown of the different breeds. Data from the 15 forces highlighted an increase in the number of American Bulldogs or XL bullies being seized and destroyed.
The number of dogs seized by forces that responded to the FOI doubled in the four years between 2018 and 2022. At least 11,008 dogs of all breeds have been seized by police forces in England and Wales since 2018 under the Dangerous Dogs Act. Some 3,444 of those dogs were put to sleep.
There were 1,192 dogs seized in 2018. That increased to 2,464 in 2022. By the time the FOIs were submitted in September 2023 there had already been 1,725 seizures. The number of dogs put to sleep rose from 394 in 2018 to 804 in 2022. There had already been 564 dogs destroyed by the time the FOIs were made in 2023.
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In 2018 just 30 dogs that were classed as being of an American Bulldog or XL Bully type were seized by forces who were able to provide breed information. By 2021 that rose to 87 before peaking at 118 in 2022. That’s almost four times higher than four years earlier. There had been 98 seizures of these types of dogs by September of last year, when the freedom of information requests were made.
Year: Seizures
2018: 30
2019: 70
2020: 55
2021: 87
2022: 118
2023: 98 * incomplete year
The number of American Bulldogs or XL Bullies put to sleep also increased at a similar rate. Seven of these types of dogs were destroyed in 2018. That rose to nine in 2020 but then jumped to 15 in 2021 and to 25 in 2022. There had been 21 American Bulldogs or XL Bullies put to sleep by the time we made our FOI requests in September 2023.
Year: Dogs put to sleep
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2018: 7
2019: 9
2020: 9
2021: 15
2022: 25
2023: 21* incomplete year
Only 15 forces could provide a breed breakdown (Getty Images)West Midlands Police seized more dogs than any other force to respond to our FOI requests. A total of 1,264 dogs were seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act between 2018 and 2022. West Midlands were one of two forces that didn’t provide a figure for 2023. However, the number of dogs seized by West Midlands police has remained largely constant over the last four years. Going from 239 in 2018 to 272 in 2022. Greater Manchester Police seized the next highest total at 1,050 between 2018 and 2023. Their numbers have gone up sharply though from 99 in 2018 to 358 in 2022 and 250 by the time the FOI was submitted in 2023. The number of dogs put to sleep by GMP rose from 35 in 2018 to 107 in 2022 and in 2023.
Our interactive map shows the number of dogs put to sleep, as well as how many were either American Bulldogs or XL Bully types. The number of dangerous dogs being seized by police in Essex has jumped by almost half in the last four years. The number of dangerous dogs put to sleep by Essex Police jumped by almost two thirds in the space of four years.
A total of 34 dogs were destroyed by the force in 2019, according to figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests. That jumped to 55 in 2022, an increase of 62%. By the time the FOI requests were made in September 2023, the force had put 30 dogs to sleep. The number of dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act rose from 65 in 2019 to 93 in 2022. There had been another 54 seized by the time the FOIs were submitted.
Essex Police were also able to provide the number of American Bulldogs or XL Bully types which were seized. In 2019 there was just one of those types of dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act. That rose to 11 in 2020 and 14 in 2021. By 2022 it jumped to 20 dogs, and by September 2023 the total stood at 16.
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