Birmingham City Council officers ‘still face risk’ from abandoned XL bullies after ban

Birmingham Council officers are still ‘facing risk’ from abandoned XL Bully dogs as they continue to deal with the ‘repercussions’ from the ban.

Following a series of attacks, in 2024 the government made it a criminal offence to own an XL bully without an exemption certificate.

It’s also an offence to sell, breed or abandon XL bullies, described by the government as large, muscular and “powerfully built”.

More than two years later, Birmingham City Council says it is still dealing with the consequences of the breed’s ban as it continues to seize dogs which have been abandoned.

But the number of XL bully dogs seized in particular has continued to fall, plummeting from 90 in 2023/24 to 13 in the past year.

“We continue to deal with the repercussions of amendments to the Dangerous Dogs Act, to include restrictions on the ownership of XL bully type dogs,” the city council wrote in a new report.

“However, the number of XL bully dogs seized as strays continues to reduce from 31 (in 2024/2025) to 13.

“All of these dogs were seemingly abandoned (intentionally allowed to stray) as none of them were subsequently claimed by their owners.

“Some of these dogs (and other breeds) present a real risk to our officers and in most circumstances, due to health and safety concerns, they must be handled by two officers.”

The council previously said one of its officers was attacked by a “pocket bully type dog” in September 2023.

“She suffered significant injuries to her leg, which resulted in several hospital visits and two weeks off work,” it said.

In the most recent report, the council confirmed a total of 564 stray dogs were seized in the past year.

“519 were impounded at kennels and 45 returned directly to their owners,” it wrote.

“Many of the dogs we deal with are the larger bull breeds. If these dogs are not trained and socialised from a young age, they can sometimes become unmanageable and some owners abandon them.”