Following the announcement that the American XL Bully dog will be banned by the end of the year, dog owners are wondering how their pets could be affected.
Dog expert Stan Rawlinson has proposed a Spain-type plan, taking after the Perros Potencialmente Peligrosos (PPP) scheme.
It requires any dog owner that owns a dog with particular characteristics, such as a muscular build, heavy weight over 20kgs, with a wide skull and jaw, muscular neck or convex cheeks to have a paid licence for the dog.
The PPP scheme also requires owners of these dogs to have insurance, proof of vaccinations and attending training classes, for the dog to be microchipped, for the owner to have a clean criminal record, and they can be required to show proof of the licence on the spot or face a fine.
‘The difficulty is we’ve got to understand what makes an American Bully – they’re a crossbreed and a mongrel, the crossbreeds with one other dog, with the base an American Pitbull, which is banned in this country, so [identifying] it shouldn’t be difficult [on that basis],’ he said.
Hellbound and Down 