Private dog park allowing XL Bullies to run free without muzzles despite ban

16 January 2024 , 16:06

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Dogs can run around on the private land in South Kilworth (Image: Leicester Mercury)

A private dog park is allowing dog owners with XL Bullies run around without leads or muzzles.

Since December 31 last year, you can't sell, leave alone, give away, make puppies from, or take an XL bully out in public without a lead and muzzle. Since then South Lodge Meadows near Lutterworth has been getting lots of calls from worried owners and Jenny Heydon, 45, who runs the place with her husband Richard, decided to allow dogs to run around the land.

The meadows are made up of two parks, one five acres and the other four, both surrounded by six-foot high fences. There's also a mini-meadow, which is a smaller version of the larger parks, and a playpark filled with obstacles like jumps, weave poles, long jump, breakaway tyre A frame and much more. Because the park is private, XL Bullies can play there off the lead if they're with dogs from their own home.

Jenny told LeicestershireLive: "When the ban came in there was a lot of panic. At first they were talking about them not being able to use the parks. They can be off lead and muzzled, because our parks are not classed as public. Some insurances aren't covering dog parks but ours does cover banned breeds such as XL Bullies."

"In public places I know dogs do need to be under control, I understand that. People are wondering where they can take their dogs. We have had a lot of XL Bully owners ask if they can use our parks. So if they cannot come to places like this they aren't allowed any time off their leads. It's pretty sad really, these dogs need to be let off (their leads)."

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The large meadows were the dogs can play (Facebook)

To book one of the meadows for one to three dogs, it costs £8 for half an hour and £12 for an hour. For four to six dogs, it's £10 for half an hour and £14 for an hour. The business was named Dog Park of the Year for 2023/24 at the Central England Prestige awards. A new doggy daycare also opened on the site today (Monday, January 15).

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]

Ben Carr