"Bad owners give breeds a bad name" says Laois SPCA on XL Bully ban

New legislation signed by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys has imposed an all-out ban on XL Bully dogs.

This legislation will make it illegal to import, breed, or re-sell XL Bullies from October 1, and ban ownership from February 1, 2025.

Owners who posses an XL Bully before next February are required to provide a 'Certificate of Exemption' to keep their existing dogs. These dogs must also be neutered and microchipped, which requires a valid dog licence, vet confirmation, photo ID and proof of address.

Ms Geraldine Lannigan, dog coordinator with Laois SPCA has welcomed these restrictions, but stressed that they must be correctly enforced.

"Yes, the legislation is needed, but it also only takes a handful of bad owners to give a breed a bad name," Ms Lannigan said.

Pictured: An XL Bully type dog.

"These are big, strong dogs we are talking about, there needs to be some control in place. The all-out ban sounds harsh, but you can't have dogs out attacking people. The legislation is needed, but it's important that it's actually enforced," she said.

"Registering for the certificate of exemption is not a huge ask for anyone that loves their dog and is happy to hold on to it. The dog already should have most of these things.

"The problem is, people go out and buy puppies and don't realise what they're really getting. If you're getting a big dog, training is so important, you need to socialise your dog properly," she said.

"I love dogs, but if a dog that size goes out of control, I wouldn't have the strength to hold it. It goes for all large dogs, not just XL Bullies, they need to be properly trained by their owners from when they're young.

"We get calls from people who have bought puppies, and when the dogs grow bigger than the owners expected, they are surrendered to us. Then we are left with big dogs that haven't been housetrained, neutered, vaccinated or microchipped.

"You can't just expect rescues to be able to completely retrain these dogs," she said.

"The XL Bully isn't a breed, it's a mix of breeds. There is a specific criteria required for a dog to be labeled an XL Bully. 

"Some are obvious, some aren't," Ms Lannigan said.

Pictured: Ownership of XL Bullies will be banned from February 1 2025.

For those in doubt, criteria for XL Bully type dogs can be found in the legislation here.

Ms Lannigan believes that the Irish Government should adopt the same methods as Sweden, who recently imported 22 XL Bullies from Ireland upon the announcement of this ban.

"Sweden are taking in vanloads of strays across the world, particularly from Ireland and Poland," she said.

"They have no stray dogs on the street and treat their dogs well. That's why they're taking them in from countries like ours," she explained. "We need to adopt their system."

Laois SPCA have recently launched an appeal for donations following financial struggles.

"Anyone who would like to foster an animal or donate to us would be great. Even donations of food would be appreciated," she said.

"We have 11 dogs at the moment and we are limited in what we can take, we have no kennels and rely on foster homes."

The charity currently have 140 animals in their care. Those who wish to donate to Laois SPCA may do so here.