Man who moved XL bully from England to Scotland to avoid ban sees dog shot dead
An XL Bully rescuer who moved dogs from England to Scotland to avoid a ban has been slammed after one of the animals was shot dead by armed police.
Sammy Wilkinson wants a law brought in to stop dogs being killed by armed police and is campaigning for “Kilo’s Law”, saying the animal was “murdered”. The 29-year-old says he wants officers to use Tasers and sedative darts on out-of-control animals instead of firearms.
Mr Wilkinson told the Daily Record in January how he was driving thousands of miles around the clock to get soon-to-be outlawed pets to safety ahead of a ban on the breed in England. He claimed to have brought scores of the animals north of the border in a matter of days.
But last month he faced a major backlash when Kilo was gunned down in the Calderwood area of East Kilbride, with rescue sources saying he had not taken enough care to rehome the animal. A woman was reported to prosecutors with offences relating to the Dangerous Dogs Act, while horrified locals told how they heard several gunshots and a dog yelping.
He has been driving dogs from England to Scotland (Sammy Wilkinson)Mr Wilkinson claims video evidence shows the animal was under control when it was shot and says he will petition the UK and Scottish Governments for change following a string of dog deaths during police incidents across the country. He said he will raise Kilo’s case at a demonstration at New Scotland Yard in London next month.
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He said: “Myself and thousands of others have tried to save as many of these dogs as possible. Last month they made the big mistake of making it personal and murdering one of my dogs. Under Kilo’s Law we hope to bring about an end to this barbarity. Under Kilo’s Law, firearms officers are to be prohibited from attending incidents of alleged dangerously out of control dogs.
"Instead a full canine unit under the supervision of a vet will be deployed with the appropriate equipment which would consist of catchpoles, sedative based dart guns and Tasers. We are tired of the police having free roam to slaughter innocent dogs.”
The Scottish Conservatives yesterday said police “did what they had to do” and “must be trusted” to protect the public amid concerns over the number of XL Bullies recently rehomed in Scotland. MSP Jamie Greene said police must be able to act fast to protect the public after a delay in the Scottish Government announcing its own ban on XLs - which doesn’t come fully into force until the end of July.
Kilo was shot dead (Daily Record)He said: “The horrific case in East Kilbride exposed the public safety issues which gave rise from the SNPs dithering over a sensible UK-wide ban on XL bullies. As a dog owner, I understand the need to protect animal welfare. No cop wants to pull a gun on anything or anyone but faced with potentially life or death situations the police did what they had to do.
"Whilst there may be some merit in using specialist sedative guns, our police must be trusted to act appropriately when called out to such incidents in whichever way they see fit to protect the public.”
Police Scotland has referred the East Kilbride incident to PIRC (Police Investigations & Review Commissioner) and is unable to comment. A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Deploying firearms officers is an operational matter for Police Scotland. On each occasion a firearm is discharged, Police Scotland refer the incident to the Police Investigation and Review Commissioner for a thorough investigation on their use.”
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