Nine out of 10 say XL Bully dogs should be banned as toddler nearly loses his leg and 54-year-old is killed in latest attacks
- 53 per cent say owners can keep dogs, provided they are neutered and muzzled
- Only 10 per cent of Britons completely oppose a ban in a recent YouGov survey
- XL Bullies have been involved in a string of fatal attacks on British streets
The majority of Britons believe that owners of XL Bully dogs, which have been involved in a string of fatal attacks this year, should be allowed to keep them provided that they are neutered and muzzled while in public.
YouGov found that 53 per cent of Britons believed that owners should keep the dogs, but ‘be required to neuter them and leash and muzzle them in public.’
This would represent a phased approach to taking the dangerous breed off the streets.
Majorities of Britons across all regions, ages, social grades, and ages agreed that the XL Bully dogs should be neutered and muzzled.
YouGov surveyed 2398 adults on October 5. Only 10 per cent said that they completely opposed a ban on the dangerous dog breed.
YouGov found that 53 per cent of Britons believed that owners should keep the dogs, but ‘be required to neuter them and leash and muzzle them in public’
A mother cradles her 20-month-old that was attacked by the XL Bully seen here on Monday
The owner of the dog tried to calm it down, as shown in these pictures obtained by MailOnline, while the mother can be seen shielding her child after the attack in Greenwich this week
The dog being held by its owner after the attack on Monday morning
A further 13 per cent said all XL Bullies should be ‘seized and destroyed’, while the same proportion of Britons believed that they should be taken and neutered and housed away from the public.
There were some differences in opinion between men and women, with men being somewhat more inclined to believe that the dogs should be destroyed.
Women, however, were proportionally more likely to want to allow the dangerous dogs to stay with their current owners after having been neutered and muzzled.
Young people between 18 and 24 were the most likely to say that the dogs should not be banned, with 26 per cent saying so. The over 65s were the most likely to say that they should be destroyed, at 19 per cent.
Those who voted Leave during the 2016 Brexit referendum were seven per cent more likely to say that they should be destroyed.
XL Bully dogs have been involved in a string of brutal attacks across Britain.
There have been eight serious dog attacks in Britain in the past year, most involving XL Bully dogs, which have caused six fatalities.
There were a record 9,424 hospital admissions from dog attacks last year, a number that has risen by a third in a decade, according to NHS data.
The number of fatal dog attacks in the UK have soared in recent years, hitting a record high in 2022. The string of attacks has upped pressure on prime Minister Rishi Sunak to speed up his ban of the breed.
Among the recent deaths was Ian Langley, 54, who was set upon on the estate in Sunderland on Tuesday by an enormous brown and white XL Bully which grabbed him by the neck as he tried to save his Patterdale terrier pup.
The number of fatal dog attacks in the UK have soared in recent years – hitting a record high in 2022
Dog walker Ian Langley, 54, was mauled to death by an XL Bully in Sunderland on Tuesday as he tried to save his Patterdale terrier pup
This is believed to be the XL Bully that mauled Mr Langley, who needed CPR for 15 minutes after the vicious attack
Police cordon off Maple Street, Shiney Row, in Sunderland after the attack
UK dog attacks in 2023
JANUARY 12, 2023: Natasha Johnston died from multiple bites to the neck, including one that perforated her jugular vein,
JANUARY 31, 2023: Four-year-old Alice Stones was killed by new family dog in savage garden attack
APRIL 22, 2023: 51-year-old Wayne Stevens died after being savaged to death by a dog belonging to his older brother at a home in Derby
MAY 18, 2023: Jonathan Hogg, 37, mauled to death a month earlier by an American XL Bully dog that he was looking after
SEPTEMBER 3, 2023: Marie Stevens, 40, was found dead at her Liverpool home after sustaining bite wounds on her arms and legs
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023: On Thursday, September 14, ‘pillar of the community’ Ian Price was attacked and killed by two ‘devil’ XL Bully dogs after they jumped out of his neighbour’s window in Stonnall, Staffordshire
OCTOBER 2, 2023: A 20-month-old boy was taken to hospital after being bitten by a suspected XL Bully dog in Greenwich.
OCTOBER 3, 2023: Ian Langley, 54, originally from Liverpool, was set upon on the Shiney Row estate on Tuesday night by an enormous banned XL Bully breed which bit him on the neck
The dog is said to have ‘torn out the throat’ of Mr Langley, who was left needing CPR for around 15 minutes as emergency services fought to staunch heavy bleeding from his wounds. The 54-year-old father tragically succumbed to his injuries. His dog survived.
A 44-year-old man from the Maple Terrace area of Shiney Row was arrested on suspicion of murder and has today been released on bail. Northumbria Police said its enquiries are ongoing.
The latest attack comes as the government bans the breed which are disproportionately represented in attacks.
It also comes after a nurse revealed she had been bitten by a Bully-type in Paignton, Devon last week.
The father of a toddler attacked by an XL Bully on Monday in London told MailOnline of his horror after the dog ‘came out of nowhere’ and mauled his son’s leg.
The toddler’s brave mother dived in to shield him during the brutal attack, losing a shoe during the struggle in Greenwich.
The 20-month-old was released from hospital this morning after surgery on his leg, which his family feared would have to be amputated after the dog ‘latched on’ to his thigh.
His father, an Indian-born businessman from the Netherlands who is in London for work, told MailOnline: ‘It was a shocking and horrific ordeal to go through but he’s going to be OK. The dog latched on to my son’s thigh.’
He has multiple puncture wounds and bruising and has had surgery. It was vicious.
‘My wife managed to get in the way of the dog slightly to shield our son and, if she hadn’t have done that, it could’ve been much worse.’
‘There is scarring on his thigh but we are thankful that he didn’t have to have his leg amputated’.
The child was discharged from hospital after two days under the care of the NHS.
The dog’s owner Thomas Ackah, 29, was arrested at the scene for being in charge of a dangerously-out-of-control dog.
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