New legislation taking effect across Britain from November 1 will make it illegal to leave a child under 12 in close proximity to an XL Bully without adult supervision. The rule, which affects 50,000 dog owners across the UK, carries the risk of a £5,000 fine.
New measure aims to protect children at home
Labour Party Animal Welfare Minister Baroness Hayman said: "Any attack on a child by a dangerous dog is unacceptable. The safety of children must always come first, and this new measure will strengthen protections in the home by ensuring young children are not left unattended around banned breed dogs, including XL Bully types. While many owners are acting responsibly, those that don't should face the legal consequences."
The safeguard is designed to reduce the likelihood of serious harm to children in domestic settings, while allowing exempted dogs to remain with families where adequate supervision is maintained.
RSPCA urges caution with all dogs
RSPCA dog welfare expert and lead on dog control, Dr Samantha Gaines, said: "Our advice to all parents with dogs is to never leave kids and dogs alone, unsupervised. The bond between dogs and children can be absolutely wonderful, but it's important to remember that pets and young kids communicate very differently and, no matter how well we think we know our dogs, there are sometimes instances when they bite."
Dr Gaines added: "Children are more likely to get bitten than adults - so we agree with the basis of this requirement, which can also kickstart a public debate around how we keep young children safe around all dogs. However, we're really disappointed that restricting this requirement solely to Section 1 dogs further compounds the idea that some dogs are dangerous and others aren't purely because of how they look."
The RSPCA statement concluded: "Any dog - whether a banned type or not - has the potential to bite and we want to remind all dog owners that they should never leave dogs and children unsupervised."
