American XL bulldogs face ban after girl, 11, attacked in street rampage

American “XL Bully” dogs are set to be banned after the latest attack saw an out-of-control pet go on the rampage in Birmingham.

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, announced that she had commissioned “urgent advice” on outlawing the breed after she highlighted the “appalling” attack on an 11-year-old girl during the incident.

West Midlands Police were investigating after the girl and two men who intervened were injured in the attack in the Bordesley Green area on Saturday.

“This is appalling. The American XL Bully is a clear and lethal danger to our communities, particularly to children,” Ms Braverman wrote on social media. “We can’t go on like this. I have commissioned urgent advice on banning them.”

The advice was commissioned last week by Mrs Braverman and policing minister Chris Philp after data showed the breed had been involved in the majority of fatal dog attacks in the UK since 2021. Two in four that year involved the XL bulldog – rising to six in 10 in 2022.

Animal experts fear there could be many more fatalities if urgent action is not taken to stop the rise of the genetically engineered American crosses from reaching Britain’s shores.

Although Mrs Braverman has requested the advice it will be the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to add the breed to the banned list.

The latest attack in Birmingham unfolded on Saturday afternoon as the animal’s owner was taking it for a walk. A video circulating online which was taken from the top deck of a bus showed the rampage erupt.

The little girl’s arms were bitten by the animal before a man managed to pull the dog off her. She ran into a shop for safety as the XL Bully was held on the ground but it then managed to escape.

The dog sprinted after another man wearing a white T-shirt and shorts. He was chased onto a petrol station forecourt where he was attacked before the animal was hit and stopped.

Police spoke to owner

West Midlands Police said the dog had been taken to secure kennels pending the outcome of the investigation and the owner had been spoken to by officers.

Footage on social media shows how the dogs chase down some of their victims, with one video in London capturing the moment one of the dogs tackles a screaming woman to the floor while it tears off chunks of her flesh.

Last week it was revealed two Bully XLs were responsible for killing 22 pregnant sheep and injuring 48 others in a frenzied attack in Wales that forced a farmer to shoot both dogs.

Despite being outlawed in the UK almost 200 years ago, authorities have warned dog fighting in Britain is on the rise and these types of breeds are the first choice.

The muscular American Bully XL can display unnatural savagery because it has been instilled through violent training and years of inbreeding.

Evade dangerous dog laws

Underground breeders are creating giant “mutant crossbreeds” by mating banned pitbulls with legal mastiffs and bulldogs to evade dangerous dogs laws.

Saturday’s attack was the latest in a series of similar incidents in the hot weather. As the temperature has risen so have the reports of dogs setting upon victims. A woman died after being mauled by Rottweilers and several children have been scarred for life.

Emma Chandley, a practising vet with Perfect Pet Insurance, said that summer highs ‘lower the thresholds for violence’ in humans and animals.

She said: “Dogs are more likely to attack and bite in the warmer summer months. As with humans, tensions tend to rise as the temperature does.

“From my experience, dogs are more likely to bite on hotter days and when the air pollution is higher,” she added.