Two XL Bully dog owners in Donegal have been granted an exemption from a recent ban on ownership of the breed.
Nationally, almost 1,000 have been granted as over 1,800 XL Bully dog owners around the country have applied for exemptions since the ban came into force.
There were three in Waterford and two each in counties Donegal, Cavan and Tipperary. There were also two surrenders each in south Dublin and Fingal.
New figures also show 48 XL Bully dogs have been surrendered to date.
In a parliamentary response this week, Minister for Rural and Community Development Dara Calleary said the greatest number of dogs surrendered were in Dublin (11) followed by Limerick (10), Cork City (4), and Kildare (4).
Fifteen councils have had no surrenders yet.
It is now illegal to own an XL Bully dog unless owners have a certificate of exemption.
To qualify for an exemption owners must prove their XL Bully dog has been neutered, microchipped, licensed and has third-party insurance. It is now a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog without a licence.
Mr Calleary said the ban on XL Bully dogs was announced in the interest of public safety following a spate of serious attacks.
“Members of the public must comply with the regulations. Any owner found to be in breach of the regulations will have committed an offence under the Control of Dogs Act 1986,” he said.
“Responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations rests with the individual local authorities, who are empowered to seize XL Bully-type dogs where necessary under the relevant statutory provisions,” he added
Local authorities do not provide the minister with the number of XL Bully dogs seized but do provide a number of those surrendered.
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