XL Bully dogs found beheaded, dead in cage following ban in England

XL Bully dogs have been found abandoned, injured and even decapitated, with some of them being beheaded, ever since they were banned in England. Figures released by the RSPCA show that there has been a huge rise in the scale of abuse of these dogs.

On December 31 last year, it became illegal to own the breed in the country. The animal charity says that since then the reports of neglect have increased by 239 per cent.

The stark rise is shocking, with the number of reports of intentional harm to XL Bully dogs made to the RSPCA rising to 103 in eight months of 2024. The number was 39 in the same period in 2023.

In one such disturbing incident of abuse, the body and head of a decapitated dog were found in a shallow grave in Evesham. Another dog with a fractured skull was found in a south London alleyway in January.

There were also reports of a cage with a dead XL Bully dog found floating in a Birmingham canal in June. A puppy was also found with blunt force trauma injuries to its head.

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Several people have also been abandoning XL Bully dogs, and the charity says that such reports have spiked by a whopping 692 per cent, with 103 of them coming in the same time period.

Are XL Bully dogs being deliberately harmed?

Calling the figures "concerning", Dr Samantha Gaines, the RSPCA’s dog welfare expert, said that they have "seen an increase generally in reports of serious abuse to animals - particularly intentional harm and beatings."

She is particularly alarmed by "reports relating specifically to XL Bully types" which she says might be "a direct result of the recent UK Government ban on this type of dog."

“This could be a result of the extra pressures this ban has placed on desperate owners who may already be struggling to care for their dogs during this cost of living crisis. But even worse, these could be deliberate acts of cruelty towards dogs who have become increasingly demonised in recent months," she said.

Meanwhile, several people are still freely keeping their dogs after successfully being granted exemption certificates. The agreement mandates that the dogs must always be on the leash, muzzled in public andneutered.