Opinions divided on XL Bully protest walk in Rother Valley Country Park near Sheffield

On December 31, 2023, the dog breed was banned in the UK and since February, it has been illegal to sell, own or breed an XL Bully.

The ban came into action following a series of deaths and vicious attacks across the country.

On Saturday, XL Bully owners met at Rother Valley Park with their dogs in protest at the new law, aiming to demonstrate how ‘well-natured’ their pets are.

The protest was organised by Olivia Walker, who labelled the law as a “horrible ban that happened to our babies.”

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Since it was introduced there has been ongoing debate as to whether it was justified or not, and Star readers have had their say.

Stuart Lawson was emphatic in his opposition.

“This makes my blood boil. These intelligent dogs are tarnished by bad owners. My daughter has an XL Bully and he’s so laid back. There’s not a bad bone in his body,” he said.

Many commonly agreed that some owners are the problem not their pets, like Nathan Woodhouse who said: “I saw you all walk past; all your dogs were well behaved. It’s a shame they’ve all been punished because of bad owners.”

However, the reaction has been far from unanimous.

The XL Bully was originally, and intentionally, bred for dog fighting and is a cross breed between the American Bulldog and the American Pitbull – a fact that has been highlighted by some readers.

“At some point this has to stop - ignoring dog genetics and what dogs were bred for,” wrote Darby Ahrens Tsilimidos.

“Pitbull-type dogs were bred to be the best fighters and killers in pits for blood sport. They were never meant to be kept as pets. Just because your Pitbull isn’t actively mauling right now does not mean there won’t be future victims,” she added.

The sometimes-unexpected behaviour that can be produced by any dog breed was called into question by Leanne Cowell, who wrote: “I appreciate that people love their dogs, but dog owners need to appreciate that some people don’t like dogs and are scared of dogs.

“Please don’t tell me ‘Oh he’s friendly, he won’t hurt you’, because you don’t know how your dog is going to react to a terrified child. Don’t take your dog off a lead if it has no recall.”