XL bully owners and campaigners from across the north of Scotland have accused the First Minister of “taking the easy way out” after he announced the breed would be banned in Scotland.
The P&J has spoken to numerous pet owners today from across Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands who have vowed to keep up the fight for their beloved pets.
Some revealed that the recent stigma over the breed has left many owners “too anxious to leave the house” with their pets, while others said Humza Yousaf was “panicking” after the recent influx of XL bully dogs in Scotland.
The leader of the Scottish Government informed MSPs today that the ban, first introduced in England and Wales, is set to be replicated north of the border.
‘Some of us are too anxious to leave the house’
Danielle McCallum was a co-organiser of Aberdeen’s XL bully meet at Duthie Park before it was cancelled earlier today.
An owner herself, she says that the negative attention has seen abuse levelled at her while walking her dogs.
She said: “The government hasn’t given us a chance with this ban.
“They haven’t acknowledged the harm that these dogs have went through by being abused, killed and rehomed.
“They haven’t even thought about owners with amazing dogs who are well trained – instead they have filled us with more anxiety.
“What about dogs on muzzles who have to suffer? Why can’t we blame the owners and place harsher punishments on them?
“People don’t realise how much people’s mental health are affected by situations like these – situations that the government are putting us in every day.
“Some of us are too anxious even to go to work.
“There are owners too anxious to leave the house, walk the dogs, because we don’t know what we’re going to face at the other side.”
‘I will never, ever give up on XL bully dogs’
Taylor Stirling, a 21-year-old mum from Keith, has been shuttling the XL bully dogs over the border since the English ban was announced.
Although she wasn’t surprised by the news, she accused the Scottish government of “taking the easy way out”.
Speaking to The P&J, she said: “It’s a bit of a disappointment that Scotland was not strong enough to stand up and say ‘no we are going to find a better solution’.
“This is just a quick and easy alternative for the government. They are panicking after realizing the number of dogs that are coming up here.
“I will never, ever give up on these dogs like I wouldn’t give up on my kids. It’s not fair on them.
“I am planning on writing to my local MPs to see if we can get our point across.
“We are not saying that nothing should be done but this isn’t the correct way to go about it.
“This is an easy way out that will kill off an amazing breed.”
XL bully owners will be left counting the cost of ban
Suzie Becci recently took in stray XL bully called Cookie, after she was left for dead outside a vet on Christmas Eve.
The Ellon dog lover, who has rehomed dogs for more than 15 years, said the ban will have knock-on effects to owners and the dogs themselves.
Owners will only be able to obtain a certificate of exemption if their dog has been neutered and Suzie said this will prove costly for owners.
She said: “We are going to be left with a surplus of these dogs that are not fit to be rehomed and charities are not going to have enough space to keep them all.
“The costs are going to escalate especially with the vets up here. The prices they charge for animals to be neutered is astronomical.
“This way it will bring extra costs to owners and it’s bad for dogs who won’t be allowed to go to the day care anymore.
“Most of the problems have been down in south England, we never have an issue here and I fear that we will be punished because of that.
“The focus is on the 10 per cent of bad ones, caused by the owners in my opinion, but people will forget the other 90 per cent which are like Cookie – a good natured and well- behaved dog.”
‘You could raise a killer Pomeranian’
Inverness XL bully owner James Reese decided he wanted an XL bully after watching one of the John Wick movies.
He said: “I always thought the look of that dog was really beautiful and unique.”
The South Carolina native grew up in a rural area where stray dogs would often get dumped.
His family would take them in and he said helping those dogs taught him it’s more nurture than nature.
He said: “You could raise a killer Pomeranian. Their bites wouldn’t do as much damage, but if you have a sweet, big dog that would never bite anyone, that doesn’t come into play.”
James immigrated to Inverness in 2021 and got his dog Porter shortly after.
While very energetic, he has never displayed any behavioural problems and James hired a private dog trainer to help burn off some of his energy.
He suggested obedience training should be more readily available for XL bully owners, instead of banning the breed.
If a law does come in, Mr Reese said he planned on applying for an exemption, in effect a licence, to keep Porter.
Yousaf in U-turn over XL bully ban in Scotland
Today’s announcement comes after Humza Yousaf previously said that he thought there was no need for a ban due to tighter controls in Scotland.
However, the First Minister has performed a U-turned after reports of XL bullies being shipped over the border from England.
On Thursday, the SNP leader told MSPs the government would replicate the ban introduced by the Westminster government.
More details on the timings and implementation of the ban are set to be revealed next week.
Speaking in parliament, he said: “What has become clear, I’m afraid in the last few weeks, is we have seen a flow of XL bully dogs coming to Scotland.
“We will, in essence, replicate the legislation that is in England and Wales here in Scotland.”