XL Bully owners are wearing muzzles in solidarity with their dogs

2024 is off to a good start...

New government legislation which came into force on Sunday makes it a legal requirement for all XL Bully dogs to be kept on a lead and muzzled when in public.

It is also illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange, abandon or let XL Bully dogs stray from now on.

Further restrictions on XL Bully dogs will also come into force later on in the year, requiring all dogs over 1 year old to be neutered, which is extended until 31st December for younger dogs.

According to Sky News reports, at least 246 dogs living at rescue centres will be put down in the New Year.

In December, Bully XL owners took their dogs on a protest walk before the ban came in, and now people have taken to sporting muzzles in solidarity with their dogs.

Photos uploaded on social media show owners brandishing the mandatory safety gear in protest over government moves to reduce the number of attacks on members of the public.

There were 351 attacks by bully breeds in 2023, according to campaign group Bully Watch.

Eleven people have been killed in the UK since 2021, with a further three deaths suspected to have been caused by this type of dogs