The Five
Banned Breeds
We have 5 Banned Breed dogs across England and Wales these are the Dogs Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanese Tosa, Pitbull Terrier and most recently added the XL Bully.
You can legally own one of these breeds providing you have been granted exemption.
In 2024 when it was announced that the XL Bully dog would be added to the list owners were given the opportunity to self register their dog by completing an online application. This process was only temporary and has now closed. Dogs that are now found to be XL Bully type must go through the court process in the same way as the other 4 breeds in order to be granted exemption.
How to determine Type
Type is based on a standard set for each individual banned breed. For example let's look at the Pitbull Terrier. The standard to determine if a dog is of pitbull type is based on the American dog breeders association standard for a Pitbull Terrier. The XL bully standards was set by the UK Government last year it is a mixture between ABKC AND UKBKC standard. This means it is about a dogs physical characteristics as opposed to the dogs DNA makeup.
The dog pictured here was purchased as a XL Bully dog both parents were XL Bully dogs, however physically he did not fit the criteria for a XL Bully he was found to be of Pitbull type.
Not everyone can own a banned breed dog
For a dog to be granted exemption by a court the court must be satisfied that the dog in question is not a danger to the public and that the owner of the dog is a fit and proper person who will be able to follow the strict rules of exemption.
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