- Did you see the attack or the aftermath? Email arthur.parashar@mailonline.co.uk
Experts have warned that more people will be mauled to death as XL Bully‘s are ‘bred to be deadly’ – after a woman in her 50s becomes the first fatality since the ban was imposed.
The dog owner was horrifically set upon by her two dogs at a property in Cornwall Close, Hornchurch, in the east London borough of Havering, just after 1pm on Monday afternoon.
Armed police bearing riot shields rushed to the scene and the two registered XL Bully dogs were later seized after being contained in a room.
The woman was tragically pronounced dead at the scene despite the best efforts of paramedics and air ambulance crews who arrived shortly after the incident at 1.10pm.
Campaign group Bully Watch, who say this is the 16th fatal attack since November 2021, say that the latest fatality proves how dangerous the XL Bully breed is, suggesting that it does not matter whether the dogs are registered or not.
A woman has been mauled to death by two XL Bully dogs at a house in Hornchurch, Havering. Pictured: Police at the scene – with one armed with a shield – last night
Neighbours were left reeling from yesterday’s attack. The house continues to be cordoned off this morning
Police guard a cordon near a house in Cornwall Close, Havering. A blue tent was erected in the front garden
The incident took place in the east London borough of Havering, with reports that armed police were called to the scene
Speaking to MailOnline they said: ‘People need to understand that the ban doesn’t protect owners – it protects the general public. That is what it is put in place to do. That is the balance the ban strikes.
‘The Government has warned owners repeatedly about the additional dangers these dogs possess. There is only so much they can now do.’
They continued by issuing a warning to all current XL Bully owners that this tragedy could happen to anyone because XL Bully’s ‘were historically bred for dog fighting and as an extension to be deadly.’
‘If you are an XL Bully owner, please do not underestimate these dogs. You have been repeatedly lied to by animal welfare organisations and campaign groups. Do not make the mistake of thinking this could not happen to you.’
Dog behavioural expert Michael Barnett from Orion Dog Services, agreed that the ban has ‘little effect’ in private residences, adding that if you want to protect owners, we will have to start again with completely new legislation.
He told MailOnline: ‘What has occurred did so inside a private dwelling then the ban itself has little effect. Muzzle and lead conditions for instance are for ‘any public place’, not inside the home. That is for all the – now five – banned breeds or types.
‘If the opportunity was there we need to look at the country’s dog laws and start again with new and better legislation, education for dog owners and a fit for purpose licensing or registration scheme.’
‘The XL Bully ban is not in place to protect owners,’ they wrote on X. ‘It’s put in place to protect the public.
‘Two women in the past month have been seriously mauled by XL Bullies within their own home. Both dogs were put down. Both incidents could have been fatal. They thankfully weren’t. Sadly today’s incident was.’
They added: ‘You can not look at this pattern of behaviour and say this isn’t a breed specific issue.
‘Blame the continued flow of propaganda from those who say ‘it’s how they’re raised’ or these ‘dogs are the softest things ever.’ Blame campaign groups who time and time again try to minimise fatalities and insist these dogs are no more dangerous than any other breed.’
In a lengthy post about the dangers of the XL Bully breed, they continued: ‘We have warned people for months now. The Prime Minister of this country has come out and made an announcement saying these dogs are dangerous. That is unprecedented.
‘Short of going door to door and assessing each owner and dog individually, which there is no resource in this country to do, enforcing the current ban conditions is the most the Government can do to deal humanely with the current population of XL Bullies.’
From February 1, it became a criminal offence to own the XL bully breed in England and Wales without an exemption certificate.
Anyone who owns one of the dogs must have had the animal neutered, have it microchipped and keep it muzzled and on a lead in public, among other restrictions.
The Government move to ban XL bullies followed a series of attacks.
Neighbours of the woman killed by her two XL Bully dogs were left reeling last night.
Photos taken at the quiet residential road this morning show the house is still cordoned off and a blue tent has been erected in the front garden.
Last night, there was a heavy police presence, with officers pictured removing equipment including shields which were used to help secure the property.
Witnesses living nearby reported seeing half a dozen police vehicles arrive in the quiet residential cul-de-sac with their blue lights and sirens on, followed by ambulance and air ambulance crews.
One person told The Mirror that police had not killed the dogs involved, and had instead ‘taken them away’.
They said: ‘There’s been vans back and forth non-stop since lunchtime and we saw the helicopter come over and you assume the worst.
The mauling is thought to be the first fatal attack by dogs granted an exemption from the government’s ban on the breed: A file image of an XL Bully
Armed officers from the Metropolitan Police were scrambled to a house in Havering, on Monday (pictured are officers at the scene of the fatal mauling)
One officer carrying a riot shield was seen in the street following the nightmare mauling
‘Campion [a nearby school and sixth form college] isn’t far from here so you panic it’s kids or something. You never think a dog’s going to do that. It’s awful.’
One person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, they had seen ‘half dozen police vehicles, blue lights and sirens, ambulance and air ambulance to Cornwall Close Hornchurch’.
The incident is thought to be the first fatal attack involving registered XL Bully dogs since fresh restrictions on the breed came into force.
Two days after the ban came in, Esther Martin, 68, was killed by XL bullies inside a property in Jaywick, Essex. Her daughter claimed the dogs were unregistered.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said on Monday: ‘A woman in her 50s has died after an incident inside a house in Hornchurch.
‘Police were called to Cornwall Close around 1.12pm on Monday, May 20, to reports of a woman attacked by a dog.
‘The woman was treated by medics from London Ambulance Service, but sadly she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police remained on the scene into the evening following the fatal XL Bully attack
A police officer is seen close to the scene of the tragedy picking up a shield on Monday
‘Due to the threat posed, armed officers attended. After assessing the situation, officers were able to safely seize two dogs.
‘These were registered XL Bully dogs and prior to officers’ arrival had been contained inside a room in the house. They did not leave the house at any time during the incident.
‘The family of the woman, who was the owner of the dogs, are being supported by officers.’
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 1.09pm today (Monday 20) to reports of an incident in Cornwall Close, RM11.
‘We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, an incident response officer and London’s air ambulance.
‘We treated a person but sadly, despite our efforts, they were pronounced dead at the scene.’
The breed has developed a reputation in the UK for violence, with increasing numbers of reported dog attacks in Britain involving XL Bullys in recent years.
Esther Martin, 68 (pictured) from Woodford Green, London, was mauled to death by two ‘unregistered’ XL Bully dogs in February
Last month a woman in Scotland was ‘seriously hurt’ after a bully-type dog attacked her in the street.
In April the inquest into the death of a father-of-five who was mauled to death by an XL Bully he was looking after on behalf of a friend heard he had the ‘worst injuries a trauma doctor had ever seen’.
And earlier this month a mother and son who allowed their XL Bully to wander free were jailed after it savagely attacked an eight-year-old boy.
Amanda Young, 49, and her son Lewis, 30, were keeping the dog in their small flat in Bootle, Merseyside at the time of the attack in February this year.
Lewis a delivery driver, bought the dog from a Facebook advert but failed to check whether it was a banned breed after new legislation came in at the beginning of the year.
He left the dog, called Snoop, in his mother’s charge but she allowed it to wander around outside the flat, while she sat drinking.
During this time the dog attacked a boy who had been on his way to play football with a friend, grabbing him by the head and neck, and violently shaking him.
Horrified neighbours valiantly tried to get the dog, which was seen ‘frothing at the mouth’ off the youngster as it ripped off his scalp during the attack on February 10, this year.
One bite fractured and pierced his skull and doctors feared at first it could have pierced his brain.
The boy was left with ‘significant and life-changing injuries’, with doctors warning he will have permanent scarring to his face and revealing that the viciousness of the attack meant they had been unable to re-attach his scalp and had to use skin grafts instead.
Lewis Young was jailed for two years and his mother was locked away for 20 months, while the dog was destroyed.
Amanda Young, 49, (pictured) and son Lewis, 30, have been jailed after an XL Bully dog attacked an eight-year-old boy
Lewis Young (pictured), a delivery driver, bought the dog from a Facebook advert but failed to check whether it was a banned breed
This latest attack comes after new rules were introduced in England and Wales requiring all people who own XL Bully dogs to have an exemption certificate from February 1.
The law, which was criticised heavily by lovers of the breed, makes it a criminal offence to own, breed or sell the animals without permission, and those who have the exemption need to neuter their dogs and have third-party liability insurance.
Campaigners are challenging the Government’s decision to ban the breed, with a case set to go to the High Court later this year.
XL bully owner Sophie Coulthard and campaign group Don’t Ban Me, Licence Me are taking legal action against the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) over the large bulldog-type American breed being added to a banned list under Dangerous Dog Act in October last year.
Campaigners argue that the ban is unlawful and irrational, claiming it was based on ‘unreliable’ material, lacked a ‘proper’ analysis over its impact and includes ‘vague’ standards that risked people unknowingly committing a criminal offence.
Government lawyers say the legal challenge should be dismissed and that campaigners’ arguments are ‘meritless’.