Ireland bans XL bullies
- Importing, breeding, selling and re-homing XL Bullies will be forbidden
XL Bully dogs have been banned in Ireland just a month after a 23-year-old woman was mauled do death by one of her pets after returning home from celebrating her birthday.
The new regulation announced by Ireland’s Department for Rural and Community Development means that the importing, breeding, selling and re-homing of XL bullies will be prohibited from October 1.
The ban was announced by the Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys.
Setting out the measures Humphreys said she understood that many people would oppose the ban.
‘We must be mindful however that no dog’s life is worth more than human life,’ she said.
XL Bully owner Nicole Morey was killed by her dog when she had just come in from a night out. Now Ireland has banned the dog breed under a new law
Pictured: Nicole Mosey, 23, before she was brutally killed by her dog
The XL Bully ban in Ireland comes after the UK government announced a ban last year in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland and Scotland, which followed suit earlier this year in response to a wave of horrific incident
‘If we do not take action now the number of these dogs in the country will grow and my fear is that these attacks will become more frequent,’ she added.
It will also be illegal to own an XL bully without a certificate of exemption from February of next year.
Current owners of XL bullies will be required to neuter their dogs to obtain a certificate of exemption by February 1, 2025 in order to keep them.
Once the legislation is enacted, any person in breach of the regulations will face a fine of up to 2,500 euros ($2,700), up to three months in prison, or both.
The ban comes following a wave of recent attacks involving the animal, including that of 23-year-old Nicole Morey, from County Limerick, who was brutally killed by her dog after returning home from celebrating her birthday.
Ms Morey is pictured with two pets. It is not known if either of the dogs pictured were involved
The 23-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene following the attack last month
Heartbreaking video has emerged of her with her pet in happier times, dancing together
Investigators believe that Ms Morey had just opened her front door when she was mauled by the dog.
Another dog, understood to be a Staffordshire Terrier, also joined in attacking Ms Morey.
The harrowing incident was captured on CCTV, and the footage has been leaked online, with Gardaí urging the public not to share it.
The XL Bully that attacked its owner had to be shot four times by police in order to stop the dog.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ms Morey had previously posted on a dog behaviour Facebook group seeking advice on how to control the animal.
Heartbreaking videos also emerged of the young woman with her pets.
One TikTok video captioned ‘my boy’ shows the owner dancing in her kitchen with her dog and laughing. The overlaying audio hauntingly plays: ‘This is my son, and I don’t give a f*** if you think he looks aggressive.’
Posted in December, the footage with the audio continues: ‘I don’t give a f*** if you don’t like the look of him, and I certainly don’t give a f*** if you think the breed should be banned.’
At the time of Mosey’s death, Humphreys, who had recently set up a group to examine dog control, had said she was ‘appalled’ by the ‘deeply shocking incident’.
In a statement she said: ‘I have consistently said that more action is required in relation to dog control.
‘That’s why I have set up a cross-governmental stakeholder group, chaired by the retired deputy garda commissioner John Twomey, to examine this whole area.’
She said she has asked the group to examine the restricted breeds list and whether Ireland should follow the example of the UK and Northern Ireland.
‘If they recommend to me that we should ban a particular breed, I’m happy to do that. But I want to let them carry out their work because there’s a number of different views and different approaches on this and I want to make sure we get it right.’
The decision to ban XL bullies in Ireland comes after the UK government announced a ban last year in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland and Scotland, which followed suit earlier this year in response to a wave of horrific incidents.
The UK government announced a ban last October for England and Wales and XL bullies now have to be muzzled in public.
That ban came after a number of recent incidents in the UK, including that of 10-year-old Jack Lis, who was killed by an XL Bully named ‘Beast’ after he went out to play at a friend’s house in November 2021.
Many owners defended the powerfully-built dogs and stressed the importance of good training.
Critics, however, said the dogs had been specifically bred to be highly aggressive and even responsible ownership could prevent them from attacking on occasion.
There are several restricted breeds in Ireland, including German shepherds, rottweilers and various bull terriers, as well as some crosses.
Restricted dogs must be kept collared with their owner’s information on a tag, muzzled in public and on a short, strong lead with someone over the age of 16 who is able to control them.
