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Worried sick by the Bully XL ban? Here’s how to help stop it

Owners in rented accommodation may find themselves evicted.Those who rely on dog walkers and sitters because they need to go to work will struggle to find anyone insured to work with their dogs. They will no longer be eligible for pet insurance - existing policies will becancelled.Disturbed by the Bully XL ban?Let’s do something about it...Why do we need to move quickly? If the ban isn’t challenged, tens of thousands ofstocky smooth haired dogs of 19 inches and above will be considered ‘type’ underthe Government’s very vague Bully XL standard. Rescues will be forced to put allthese dogs to sleep on or before New Year’s Eve. These three innocent dogs are inrescue and the clock is ticking... there are thousands more just like them.The killing won’t stop there: Every stocky, medium (and above) smooth-haired dogcan be considered ‘type’ under the very vague Gov standard. They will need to beregistered and exempted. That’s 100s of thousands of dogs - possibly even millionsof dogs affected depending on how the very vague guidelines will be applied.BLOOD MONEY: The Gov has offered £200 to ‘help’ pay to kill their entirely innocent dogs - like a scrappage scheme. Why did this happen?All the established expert witnesses pleas’ were ignored. All the experts said the banwas impossible to implement and that breed specific legislation (BSL) is totallyflawed and would not make the public any safer. Instead they listened to a new pressure group only in existence for 77 days usingsome highly questionable statistics based on rumour and Facebook gossip. Weneed to challenge these ‘facts’ that apparently led the Government to opt for a knee-jerk response that wouldn’t make the public any safer but would create a cullof innocent dogs and tremendous distress to everyone called upon to do the illogicalkilling of innocents.UNHAPPY CHRISTMAS: Government has decreed that every smooth-coated chunky dog taller than 19 inches in rescue will be dead before New Year’s Eve

All dog lovers need to unite No one is minimising the tragedy of deaths caused by fatal dog bites, but we needa logical response that works to stop future antisocial behaviour with dogs, not justa repeat of legislation that we already know didn’t ever make the public safer.The last breed ban in 1991 was similarly born out of a media storm - a rush forpoliticians to be seen to be doing something. When they banned the Pit Bull type in1991 it should have meant they’d all die out as all were neutered or put to sleep, Yet today we have many more Pit Bulls than before the ban. And crucially the Pit Bull type has appeared many more times on the fatal bite listafter they were banned than before. On every level BSL didn’t work, so why imagine it will make the public any safer?Donate here to the legal fund and stand up for all dogs and for a safer society whereGovernment policy is based on facts and not rumour. Where we get meaningfulsolutions not just disastrous knee-jerk reactions. We hope this booklet helps to tell you a little more about John Cooper KC and hisbeloved dog Lawrence. Included is a reprint from Dogs Today’s 2018 edition whenJohn and his dog appeared on the cover. An article from that edition is also included; we were expecting the DangerousDogs Act to be reformed back then, yet here we are today with a Governmentadding more dogs to this flawed piece of legislation.Please share this to other dog lovers who may be unaware of the cull of rescue dogsthat is imminent. We are already hearing owners in peril, who don’t know who toturn to, who had never imagined anyone would think their Lab cross was a Bully XL,scared for the future. Rescues full to bursting already at 130% capacity desperate torehome dogs before they have to be killed. Vets and vet nurses distraught at the thought of having to execute innocent healthydogs - it is not what they signed up for.Help stop this, donate and unite - make the Government do their job properlyrather than grasping for quick fixes that won’t work.Click to donatehttps://gofund.me/0272a583

Facts can sometimes be confusingIf you jump to conclusions, you get quick fixes that don't work.This is probably why we've just banned some dogs instead of changing the system forthe way people breed/buy/train dogs.The type of dog in this analogy is the red car, will there be fewer accidents if peopleonly get blue cars?Let's ban imagined quick fixes that never work. Breed bans didn't work in the nineties -we've got many more Pit Bulls now than ever before! And many more fatal bites froman already banned breed. Stop this confounded nonsense - let’s press for meaningful change - root and branchreform on the way dogs are bred, bought and sold will save more lives than thisnonsensical knee-jerk reaction.Red cars are more likely to be owned by men More sports-type cars are red.More red cars are involved in car accidents than other colours. Are red cars more dangerous than other colours, should we ban them from the roads? The relationship between colour and accident risk is confounded by other factors, which are more realistic risk factors for the outcome of accidents.

What we are told are facts sometimes aren't... Reporting is poor, dogs are frequently misidentified as the police/reporters don't knowtheir Argentino Dogo from their Elkhounds - but the words ‘Bully XL’ gets clicks anddogs don't sue for misidentification. And when we start reading these stories because of the algorithm it brings many,many more to our attention. More people in our area may be dying from knife crime,accidental death, child abuse and domestic violence - but those stories don't trend, sowe only see the nasty, nasty dog bites on our feeds. Yes, there have been more terrible cases in the last two years than in the years before -and some have been captured on video and widely shared - but it's still much morelikely you'll die from being struck by lightning while winning the lottery. But what can be causing the rise in fatal bites? We're buying bigger dogs - so the bites are much more life changing. Like when we allstarted driving 4x4s, pedestrian deaths increased in accidents. What else haschanged? Many more people acquired dogs that had never owned them ever before,rescues have never been so full to bursting even before the XL Bully ban started beingtalked of - I heard 130% occupancy - ie 30% waiting to come in, before the talk of aBully XL ban. There are also very many more dogs in the UK now than ever before.We have a cost of living crisisPeople have been breeding dogs to make some money - the whole thing has been likea pyramid-selling scheme. Huge litters of huge dogs being bred by people with not aclue about early training or temperament - being sold to inexperienced people whomay be looking to TikTok for how to train them. Consequently treating them meanand then selling them on to other people when they can't cope - so the averagenumber of failed homes for already badly bred dogs is higher than ever before.Price has made resale of badly behaved dogs attractive and online selling sites makeit as easy as flogging-on shoplifted clothes. And a big scary dog might be appealing ifyou've got big scary neighbours. It's a society issue, multifactorial. Ban one type of dog and you’d be playing Whac-a-Mole for ever more, as another would take its place.It's just like giving a type of dog a brand boost to all the wrong people. There is no ‘quick fix’ to put right this mess - what we need is a joined-up logical response that works.There's still just time, but if anyone thinks the ban will save lives, I’m afraid you are sadly mistaken.Beverley Cuddy, Editor, Dogs Today Magazine

Photos of John and Lawrence by Penelope Malby Photography

Click to donatebefore it’s too latehttps://gofund.me/0272a583