A man sustained serious injuries and another was hurt in an incident involving a large bulldog-type dog in Hamilton, which prompted the police to shoot the animal dead. Authorities said they received reports of an attack on a person and arrived at 5:00 pm to deal with the dangerously out-of-control animal. Soon after, the dog tried to attack a police officer, leading armed law enforcement personnel to take lethal action. The injured man was taken to hospital for urgent treatment, while the lesser hurt victim was also admitted to a medical facility for medical assistance.
Supt Steven Espie stated that investigating authorities are working on identifying the breed of the canine that was involved in the attack, while reassuring the area’s inhabitants that the situation is under control and there is no further danger to the public. The investigating officers are scouring the region, ascertaining the facts of the matter. As with any firearm incident, the matter comes under the purview of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc).
This incident happened only a few days after former football manager Dave Watson and a 70-year-old woman were treated for injuries caused by a dog attack in the Dyce area of Aberdeen. The Scottish government had recently announced that it plans to implement UK laws banning XL bully dogs without a licence, after facing considerable pressure to apply dog breed restrictions similar to those enacted in England and Wales since 31 December 2020. The breed has been involved in several high-profile cases in which owners and bystanders sustained severe injuries, or, in some instances, died.
While the UK Kennel Club does not formally recognise XL bully dogs as a breed, the UK government has recently released guidance to help identify the animals by describing them as large dogs with a muscular body and blocky head, indicative of their size, power, and strength. Scottish authorities will enforce these new restrictions at a later date. Meanwhile, the Scottish SPCA has reiterated that since the English and Welsh laws banned XL bully dogs, Scotland has become a “dumping ground” for the breed
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