The trend of breeding ‘killing machine’ dogs will only get worse after the ban on XL bullies, according to an expert.
Another name in a long list of victims to have tragically lost their lives from an XL bully attack is Angeline Mahal, who was brutally mauled to death in her home by her two registered XL bullies on Monday – just a few months on from new laws being introduced to help protect the public.
Despite it now being illegal to sell or breed an XL bully, while it has also been made a criminal offence to own one without an exemption certificate, criminologist Dr Simon Harding, 63, argues the laws are only driving criminals to mix other large breeds to engineer the next best ‘aggressive and vicious’ dog.
Just like the Pitbull, which was banned under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, Dr Harding says the XL bully has been bred for status, used as a ‘commodity’ within gangs. Their grand scale and muscular stature, exacerbated by twisted training regimes, has allowed some owners, often in gangs, to profit off the banned breed, from savage dogfighting tournaments and lucrative online breeding sales.
Dr Harding, author of Unleashed: The Phenomena of Status Dogs and Weapon Dogs, doesn’t believe the latest rules will put an end to the bloodshed, as he knows of men who have already started breeding the next XL bully. “I think we’re going to keep seeing it, but I don’t think we’re really going to find out accurately what the outcome is of the laws because the data on all of this is really poor,” Dr Harding told the Mirror.
“Some people with crossbreed XL bullies haven’t registered their dogs because they don’t understand the rules, so people get these things wrong. There are plenty of dogs out there that haven’t been exempted and that’s a worry. So I don’t think we’ve seen the last of these kind of events. And what I know now is these same young men are already breeding other kinds of dogs to get around this idea of a banned XL bully.
“I’ve written about Pitbulls 10 years ago, and it’s the same now with XL bullies. I’ve interviewed people breeding and fighting them and in five years time, these people will be fighting and breeding the next version. It’s a scourge in society and there’s a real core of people that like to do this kind of thing and it’s ghastly and it is a real danger to the general public.”
Dr Harding, Director of Criminology Services Limited, says breeders are now going for Rhodesian Ridgebacks with Afhgan and Molossian hounds, along with Cane Corsos and Boerboels. “They will breed these dogs with other breeds and again, it’ll be another Frankenstein dog. That’s what people do to get around these bans. It is scary.”
The XL bully is a larger and more muscular variant of the American Bully breed. It first emerged in the US in the late 1980s when American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Bull Terriers were crossed. Meanwhile, most Pitbulls descend from a cross between the Old English Bulldog and Old English Terrier.
Dr Harding sympathises with the ‘deed not the breed’ argument, often touted by animal charities such as RSPCA, which is the principle that there is no such thing as a breed that is bad by nature. However from his experience interviewing young men in gangs, they’ve been conditioned to act violently, he says.
“Any dog can be a loving dog. But of course, if you treat it in a particular way, you train it in a particular way, it’s going to develop characteristics and attributes which are the complete polar opposite of that,” Dr Harding told the Mirror. “They’re going to become violent. They’re going to become aggressive. First of all, aggressive to other dogs than aggressive to humans.
“And that’s exactly what a lot of young people, young men, who have these dogs are trying to achieve.” Citing an example, he says if a Pitbull is crossbred with an XL bully, it can produce a litter of 10. If a breeder chooses to train up the biggest two and breed them again, it creates a chain reaction.
“Each time it’s almost like a ratchet effect that you are constantly training in and breeding in aggression and violence. In three, four, five years, you’re going to arrive at a significantly different place,” he explained. “Some of these dogs are almost like Frankenstein dogs. They have been created to achieve a particular effect and serve a particular purpose.
“We have to ask ourselves ‘why are people doing this?’ Ultimately, they’re not the type of dogs that are going to sit on the couch with you and play with the kids, you’re going to create something that is a hair trigger in terms of aggression and violence and it becomes so violent it’s manstopping.
“It is so big, so heavy, so ferocious, it will take a man to the ground, never mind what it would do to women, elderly, children. What I have found is sometimes women have them more for protection. But then, sadly, as we’ve seen yesterday, they can turn on you.”
Following the latest XL Bully attack, Nick Horniman MRCVS, veterinary surgeon and founder of online pet pharmacy www.mypetsvet.co.uk, has also questioned how far the new laws will go. “While the registration of these dogs is a step in the right direction, it is evident that it is not enough on its own to prevent such tragedies,” he said.
“The core problem often lies with irresponsible owners who lack the necessary knowledge and commitment to properly train and care for larger breeds. In the wrong hands, XL bullies can become a significant public safety concern due to their size and strength.
“Proper training and socialisation are needed to make sure that these dogs do not pose a threat to the community. However, our clients who have this breed have been very sensible in that they have them microchipped, neutered, muzzled in public places and are sensible in where they take their dogs.
“This tragic event highlights the need for stricter enforcement of existing regulations and greater emphasis on educating potential owners about the responsibilities of owning such breeds. Ultimately, the goal should be to promote responsible ownership and prevent these tragic outcomes ensuring the safety of both the dogs and the public.”
To get to the bottom of the problem of dogs being bred to be dangerous, Dr Harding says early intervention is needed in schools. Just like children are taught how to ride a bike or swim, the former university professor believes kids should be taught animal management – how to care for pets. “Why not do that? So people grow up loving these animals and never want to hurt them,” he suggested.
“But that is societal change and it will take a long time to do. The whole thing needs to be regulated better. Now we have chips and pins, all those kinds of things, licensing might work better if it was brought in. You need a licence for your Netflix, why not for your dog?”