Our statement regarding a ban of XL Bullies.

The past few weeks have been emotional and difficult for those impacted by dog attacks and for those who are responsible owners of well-bred and well-behaved bully type dogs. As a team of dedicated animal lovers committed to the welfare of the dogs in our care, the Dangerous Dogs Act has put us in situations we never dreamed of having to be in.

The recent news from the Prime Minister to add XL Bully type dogs to this banned breed list, in our opinion, falls short of understanding the real challenges happening in communities up and down the country where their breeding practices, control and training is not effective.

Over the years we have cared for some amazing dogs who have unfortunately met criteria out with our control that has determined them to be banned breeds. It has felt unfair and immoral. To now see another breed type be added to this list in our opinion takes us backwards and not forwards in facing up to these very serious and real dog control issues.

We take our legislative responsibilities seriously, including compliance with the Dangerous Dogs Act. However, we believe that any animal welfare legislation should ultimately protect dogs from irresponsible owners who put their health or wellbeing at risk and promote good breeding and training practices. This does not correlate with banning specific breeds. We will continue to work with our national partners on acting as a voice for why dog control through responsible pet ownership should be the focus, not the blanket ban of a breed or type of dog.

A requirement of ownership for existing owners of XL Bully dogs is for their dog to wear a muzzle. We will be offering training classes to support owners on how to positively approach muzzle training as well as continuing to offer 1-1 training for more specific training advice. We will release more information about this soon.