XL Bully dogs in Scotland will be subject to new controls similar to those introduced in England and Wales. Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown announced that the breeding, selling, and abandonment of the animals will be outlawed under new measures. Dogs will be required to be muzzled and leashed in public with the exception of those owners who obtain exemption certificates to do so. Though the legislation has not yet taken effect, the Scottish government has acknowledged an influx of XL Bully dogs since 31 December, the day on which the regulations came into force south of the border.
Ms. Brown noted that the new safeguards are not a ban, but an effort to ensure public safety under exceptional circumstances. She added that England and Wales have failed to prevent dogs from being brought over to Scotland. There will be a fee to keep XL Bully dogs, but this has not been announced. Owners who apply for exemption in England and Wales must pay £92.40, and the dogs must be neutered and microchipped according to those guidelines. Furthermore, owners who no longer wish to keep the animals will be charged £100 or £200 to have them euthanized.
The Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs defines XL bully as a male dog over 20in (51cm) or a female over 19in (48cm) in height. Animal rehoming centers are “creaking under the pressure” of abandoned animals during the cost-of-living crisis, according to Lindsay Fyffe-Jardine, the chief executive of Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home. The charity recently took in Kira, an XL Bully who had been brought from England after the ban was enacted. She called the situation unusually unstable and worried about dogs ending up on the streets.
Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay condemned the Scottish National Party for “dithering” on the rules and prioritizing point-scoring over public safety, although Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf stated last week that they would “replicate” the UK laws
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