Jersey’s leading animal rescue charity has opposed planned restrictions on XL bully dogs and other breeds deemed to be “dangerous” – but with a growing number of dog attacks in the UK and known breeders in Jersey, why doesn’t the JSPCA want these breeds to be regulated?
The proposed change in the law
In September, the Constables’ Committee proposed a series of changes to the current Dogs Law, which regulates how dogs need to be registered and other obligations that dog owners must observe, such as displaying information on their pets’ collars.
Under the proposed changes, owners of dangerous dogs – defined as being “of the type” of fighting dogs like XL bullies, pit bull terriers or dogo argentinos – would have to muzzle their pets and would not be allowed to breed them.
The proposed definition of a dangerous dog
Under the proposed law, a dog is defined as “dangerous” if:
- It is of the type commonly known as:
- Dogo Argentino
- Fila Brasileiro (also known as the Fila Braziliero or the Brazilian Mastiff)
- Japanese Tosa (or Tosa)
- Pit bull terrier
- or XL bully
- It is of any other type that appears to have been bred for fighting
- It is of a type for which a licence for importation or exportation is required.
Speaking to Scrutiny last month, the States Vet, Susana Ramos, said those types of dogs should be regulated not because of their personalities, but because they can cause far more harm if they do bite.
“You shouldn’t have to wait for a fatality to act,” she said.
But JSPCA representatives, who have complained that they weren’t consulted about the law, have written in to oppose the proposed legislation.
Resources
In a letter, the animal charity warned that Jersey lacks the resources to enforce the law – with no police officers or JSPCA staff trained to deal with dangerous dogs, or facilities where they could house dogs they seize.
A lack of measures “could pose safety, welfare, and resource challenges”, they said.
Aggression, breed, and real danger
The charity argued that “genuinely dangerous dogs” come from a “wide variety of breeds”, and added that breed wasn’t a factor in dog-attack deaths.
The animal shelter argued policies must “target behaviour rather than breed”.
Regulating specific breeds would be “discriminatory”, the JSPCA said, with regulations on XL bullies risking “stigmatising responsible owners and non-aggressive dogs”.
The charity added that “breed-specific legislation” – which bans breeds rather than regulating behaviour – hadn’t worked in other jurisdictions.
What is an XL bully?
Speaking last month, the States Vet acknowledged that there is no separate breed known as an XL bully in the UK, and that the law instead would regulate dogs of “XL bully type”.
The JSPCA said that this meant litters could be split between dogs big enough to be of “type” measurements and smaller animals.
The charity said: “In the UK, there have been cases where litters of puppies born from
breeds determined as ‘type’ have been split, with some dogs deemed to meet ‘type’
measurements and euthanised, while others from the same litter were exempt.
“Determining risk based on physical characteristics rather than behaviour is unfair, risks inconsistent application, and does not reflect how a dog’s temperament develops or
presents in practice.”
Determining risk based on physical characteristics rather than behaviour is unfair, risks inconsistent application, and does not reflect how a dog’s temperament develops or
jspca
presents in practice
The animal shelter also explained that there had been no fatalities or serious attacks involving XL bully dogs in Jersey to date.
“The JSPCA has extensive experience managing dogs that have exhibited genuinely dangerous behaviours and, at times, posed a risk to life,” they added.
“However, none of these cases have involved XL bullies.
“While we acknowledge that any large, powerful dog has the potential to cause harm, this risk is not unique to the XL bully breed type.”
“Mr Bronx” the pit bull
A dog called “Mr Bronx”, the JSPCA said, had been seized and kennelled “under suspicion of being a pit bull”, but his welfare and behaviour suffered – which they say is an example of how seizing dogs is bad for them.
They added that the law wouldn’t allow someone to sell or pass on their XL bully if they couldn’t care for them anymore, meaning euthanasia “is the only lawful outcome”.
This went against animal welfare principles, the charity said.
