North Yorkshire Police has revealed the total number of XL Bully dogs it has seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act since the end of last year.

The Act was introduced in response to reports of injuries and deaths caused by dogs, some of which were linked to the breed.

It is now a criminal offence to own, sell an XL Bully in England and Wales without a certificate of exemption. It’s also an offence to sell or breed XL Bullies or have one in public without a lead and muzzle. 

North Yorkshire Police published data on Friday (July 12) in response to a freedom of information request.

It revealed 13 dogs believed to be XL Bullies have been seized under section one of the act since the ban was introduced.

The data highlights how confusing the legislation has been to implement, with identification of the breed a particular problem. So far, five of the dogs seized have been found to not be XL Bullies.

It reveals:

• One XL Bully has been euthanised at the owner’s request.
• Three dogs were found not to be XL Bullies. 
• Another dog was classified as a Pitbull and an outcome on what action to take is awaited.
• Four cases involving seized dogs are classed as 'awaiting outcome'.
• Two dogs were found to be standard bullies and below the required height of an XL Bully.

Two are awaiting identification clarification.