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An animal rights campaigner has claimed that dogs who are not XL bullies are being put to sleep in pounds around Ireland, claiming that decisions were being made ‘arbitrarily’ as to which dogs were euthanized.
Gript has been told that a 7-month-old American Pitbull Terrier (pictured) who was discovered straying in Drogheda recently was put to sleep by the county dog pound after being identified as an XL bully.
It has been alleged that the individual to whom the animal was registered attempted to make contact with the pound, however the dog was put down within days of arrival at the facility.
Animal rights campaigner, Brenda Fitzpatrick says the case of the American Pitbull is “symptomatic” of a larger issue.
Speaking to Gript she said, “it’s basically just symptomatic of what’s happening on a wider scale around the country, with the introduction of the Fine Gael legislation against the XL, you know, the XL bully ban,”.
“That little dog had no chance,” she said, adding, that the dog may have escaped euthanasia were he taken to “one of the more enlightened pounds”.
Fitzpatrick, who works in the field of animal welfare and has launched a petition to “ban backstreet breeders” instead of “existing dogs”, said that the XL bully “is not an identifiable breed” and is “not a registered breed.”
She said there were issues with the confirmation criteria for identifying an XL bully as set out in government legislation which she said could also “basically relate to any large bull breed, including an American Pit Bull, American staffing, American Bulldog, and any cross of these dogs as well.”
“It could also relate to a Rottweiler, by the way,” she said that the law introduced by Fine Gael was “just symptomatic of the the corruption, really, that’s going on in the country at the moment, and the ignorance that’s there, and the lack of any concern whatsoever in relation to animal welfare,”.
She claimed that councils “are just basically just making it up as they go along.”
“You know, Heather Humphreys herself said that this will be subjective in terms of how this goes,” she said adding that, “it’s up to the person who’s looking at the dog to decide whether the dog is an XL bully or not.”
She said that it was “down to dog wardens or, in certain county council areas, to vets to decide “whether a dog lives or dies”, adding that there was “no appeals process” once a dog has been seized.
Gript attempted to contact the pound where the seven month old American Bulldog was put down, however we have yet to receive a response.
We also made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the individual to whom the dog was registered.
Fitzpatrick claimed that during training provided by an expert from the UK to a number of dog wardens and council officials, some of the commentary from those receiving the training – at which she says she also attended – was “really pitiful and disgraceful”.
She claimed that some of those in attendance had seemed flippant in discussing the decision process of which dog “lives or dies”.
She said the bully ban was having wider consequences for owners of dogs who are identified as bullies and that in some cases people have been asked to leave council properties after inspectors have identified a pet as being on the restricted breeds list.
“This legislation has basically given the green light to wardens and county councils now to shine a spotlight on people who are tenants within their houses, who may have had restricted breeds, And you know, under the raid are basically and now these people are being told, you know, get rid of your dog, surrender your dog, or else you lose your house.”
“And already today, two people, two independent people, reached out to me in absolute desperation. They’re in exactly this situation. And one of them, one of them actually has a Cane Corso.”
Fitzpatrick explained that although the Cane Corso is not on the restricted breed list, “the warden in that area has decided that the Cane Corso matches or aligns with the description, the vague description given by the government on the XL bully, and therefore her dog could be described as an XL bully.”
She said that Fine Gael had “cherry picked” aspects of a similar law in the UK but had left out “really, really important and pertinent pieces of that legislation”.
“For example”, she said, “there is absolutely no appeals process in this country. So if a warden comes along and decides your dog is an XL bully type, and you have not got your dog exempted, because as far as you’re concerned, your dog is an American staffy, you have no appeal.”
“You’ve no right to appeal, your dog is seized and will be euthanized, will be killed.” she said.
On the issue of safety concerns surrounding XL bullies, she said that the root of this issue was in the way owners handled the dogs.
She said that certain owners abuse the dogs by putting them “on steroids” in order to use them for “social status”, and that in many cases the dogs are kept caged in ways that cause them emotional distress.
She refuted the idea that the XL bully was an inherently dangerous breed saying that “Any dog can bite,”.
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