10/06/2026
‼️Here are Pamela's thoughts on the new legislation and our official stance on it ‼️ :
My greatest passion is the safety of children around dogs of all breeds & I’ve always been vocal against the XL bully ban for being ineffective and short sighted!
So I have mixed feelings on the new legislation being added From November 2026 to the exemptions.
From that date new restrictions will come into place for the owners of exempted breeds. It will become illegal to allow a child under 12 to be left alone with an exempt dog. Owners who leave children unsupervised with banned breeds could face prosecution and even have their dog seized.
This is another attempt to reduce dog bites which are steadily increasing each year.
Whilst I welcome it I will make the same points I have for some time.
Most fatal dog attacks happen in the home which has always been my main concern with the previous restrictions on banned breeds as there were no safety measures for inside the home. Only on lead and muzzles In public!
Most fatal dog attacks on children happen with an adult present! In fact only one of the child fatalities in the run up to the ban happened when a child was alone with the dog.
This new restriction is vital to raise awareness but does not go any where near far enough to prevent more bites and fatalities. We must spread awareness that having an adult present does not guarantee a child’s safety!
My other burning issue is that this ONLY applies to banned breeds and not all breeds!
Any breed can bite and be aggressive and as I’ve stated multiple times the ban and restriction should be temperament specific rather than breed specific!
Any dog who has shown any signs of aggression should be included irrelevant of their breed!
That’s how we would actively and appropriately reduce the incidents of child injuries.
