Watch: XL Bullys run free in safe corner of Sheffield's Rivelin Valley Dog Park

They have been covered by strict new laws for months.

But there is still a corner of Sheffield where the city's XL Bully dogs can run free.

Since laws stopping XL Bully dogs from going out without a lead or muzzle came in, the Rivelin Valley Dog Park has become an oasis for owners, and has seen numbers of visitors owning the breed rise, as they look for somewhere they can be safely let off the leash. The video shows one of the breed running around free there this week.

The venue near Rivelin Valley Road is a council approved site with a secure compound where dogs can be released to run around in a 50 square metre field.

One owner, Janine Oxley, brought her pet, Bruno, to the venue - and the video shows Bruno enjoying himself taking a rare chance to run around in the open.

Janine said it was 'the only place he’s allowed to play off lead like a normal doggie'.

Since December 31, 2023, it has been a legal requirement to keep your XL Bully dog on a lead and muzzled when in public.

It is also illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, abandon or let an XL Bully stray.

From February 1, 2024, all XL Bully dogs have had to be registered, with public liability insurance, microchipped, and neutered.

Michael Hill, who set up the Rivelin Valley Dog park, believes his is the only site of its kind to have council planning permission.

He said he had seen a surge of XL Bully owners using the facility since the new laws came in.

"We are getting a lot," he said: "They think it's brilliant that they can come here.

"There is not really anywhere else that people can take them. It's somewhere where they can come and take off the muzzle, and where it is safe for them. They back the car in through a gate, and let them in through the back of the car. It is freedom of them."

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Some bring their XL Bullys from as far away as Rotherham and Barnsley to use the facility, which is open from 7am until it gets dark.

Michael said some customers bring their dog to the venue every day.

He added: "We are in the middle of the countryside, so there are no neighbours round here."