Gareth Cox, 45, pleaded guilty to hitting his dog Cyrus nine times with a metal lead and also to having breached the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 at a court hearing at Willesden Magistrates Court
An XL Bully owner uttered seven disturbing words as he brutally battered and whipped the pet with a metal lead.
Gareth Cox, 45, of Manor Square, Dagenham, admitted to hitting the dog nine times with a metal lead at Willesden Magistrates Court, in north-west London. A harrowing video from May 22 that showed the brutal attack saw Cox hoisting dog Cyrus up by the throat with him being heard saying: “Don’t run off, you stupid f****** dog.”
Cox pleaded guilty to failing to prevent his dog from suffering. Cyrus has since been seized and taken into police kennels. He also admitted to having breached the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 by allowing a “fighting dog” to be in a public place without a muzzle or lead. Cox will be sentenced in February.
According to MailOnline, the trial comes amid an investigation that found police destroyed more than three dangerous dogs a day on average after the XL ban came in about a year ago. The crackdown into owning the breeding and sale of XL Bullies came into force on December 31 last year following several attacks on the public.
It became illegal to own the breed unless it was previously registered ahead of the deadline. The XL is the fifth dog breed to be banned in the UK. Other breeds include the Japanese Tosa, Pit bull terrier, Dogo Argentine and Fila Braziliero.
The government initially believed there were about 10,000 XL bullies in the country at the time of the ban. But it later turned out to be a huge underestimate with the figure being closer to 57,000. FOI figures obtained by the BBC from 19 police forces in England and Wales found that 1,991 suspected banned dogs were seized in the first months of 2024.
XL Bully owners have new rules to follow with a number of updates having been made to the exemptions in the current ban. The update includes new information about third party public liability insurance which owners are encouraged to familiarise themselves with.
Owners will no longer need to send proof of their insurance renewal each year to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). But Defra can still ask for proof of third party public liability insurance and owners will need to supply this proof within five days.
If they are unable to share the proof in time, the Certificate of Exemption that allows them to own an XL Bully despite the ban will become invalid, according to the new update. Their insurance also still has to extend for the lifetime of their dog.
