A Donegal dog rescue charity says they have been inundated with requests to have dogs rehomed ahead of the upcoming XL Bully ban.
The ban comes into effect on the 1st of February, with owners of the breed being given the option of giving up their dogs or applying for an ownership permit.
However, it seems that many owners of the soon-to-be-banned dog have turned to animal rescue charities ahead of the ban coming into effect.
One such organisation is the Twin Towns Lost and Found Dogs group, who today made an appeal reminding owners that such charities cannot take on the XL Bully dogs.
“We’re getting a lot of people wanting to give us their pit bull type dogs,” the group posted on Facebook.
“They don’t want to be out of pocket to get all done with these dogs as new laws come in on February. We cannot take these dogs. They not rehomable. We certainly aren’t taking your dogs to be pets.”
They are urging XL Bully owners to “do the right thing” and apply for a certificate of exemption which will allow owners to take care of the dogs until the end of their natural lives, instead of simply abandoning them.
“A lot of dogs being dumped. If you dump your dog, it will be put to sleep after 5 days in the pounds. Rescues can’t take in dogs, when they (are) full up.”
“We just seem to get everyone’s problems. And we’re stuck with them. This is the reason we’re full up,” they posted.
The XL Bully ban was approved by Government in October following a number of serious incidents involving the dog breed.
The ban now means that the importing, breeding, selling and re-homing of XL Bully dogs will be prohibited.
Donegal County Council has issued a reminder to owners of the type as to what they must do when the new regulations come into effect.
Owners can apply for a Certificate of Exemption before the 1st of February, which will allow owners to keep their dog until the end of its natural life.
Otherwise, owners are required to surrender their dogs to their local authority Dog Warden, where the dog will be humanely euthanised.
XL Bully owners can access exemption forms, or other information about the ban via the Council’s website here: https://www.donegalcoco.ie/en/services/other-services/veterinary-services/dog-control/
