UK's American XL Bully ban: Which dangerous dogs are banned in Europe?

After days of speculation, it’s been confirmed that the American XL Bully dog breed will be banned in the United Kingdom.

On Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the dogs are a danger to communities and human life and vowed to take the breed off the streets.

The move comes a day after a man died in the Midlands after being savaged by two dogs.

They have previously attacked several other UK citizens, including a two-year-old child.

Sunak’s decision, while claiming he "shared the nation's horror" at such attacks, means that the Bully XLs will be prohibited by the end of 2023.

There won't, however, be a mass cull of the dogs. The UK's chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss, announced on Saturday that there will instead be an "amnesty", where existing owners will have to register their dogs and take actions such as making them wear a muzzle in public.

In the UK, Bully XLs join four other breeds - the Pit Bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro - which are all banned under a law that prohibits any dog which is "dangerously out of control.”

It’s clear the American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities.

I’ve ordered urgent work to define and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe. pic.twitter.com/Qlxwme2UPQ

Downing Street has been forced to deny that the government had taken too long to ban the Bully dogs.

A spokesman for No. 10 said: "Clearly this breed of dog isn't defined in law so it's right to take the time to consider the best way to put an end to these horrendous attacks that we're seeing".

There are concerns that the ban may not be as easy to enforce as many would hope.

The American bully XL is, in actual fact, not being recognised as an individual