Expenditures on kenneling and veterinary services by police forces in England and Wales have surged more than threefold since the implementation of the XL bully ban, with certain departments experiencing nearly a 500% increase in their spending since the law took effect in 2024.<\/p>\n
Information gathered from 22 police forces through freedom of information requests indicates that the average spending per force skyrocketed from \u00a3137,400 in the 2022-23 fiscal year to \u00a3423,136 in 2024-25.<\/p>\n
West Mercia police reported the most significant rise, with annual expenses jumping from \u00a392,383 in 2022-23 to \u00a3715,349 in 2025-26, marking a staggering 674% increase.<\/p>\n
John Campion, the Conservative police and crime commissioner for West Mercia, expressed concern over the escalating demands on policing resources. He stated, \u201cPolicing is already stretched, and rising costs coupled with increasing demand are straining resources to their limits. The additional financial pressure of kenneling illegal dogs, imposed by both the government and the public, is further complicating budget management.\u201d<\/p>\n
He emphasized that while kenneling is vital for public safety, the lack of adequate government funding for these expenses could ultimately affect frontline services.<\/p>\n
Other police forces, including those in Lancashire, Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall, Norfolk, and Sussex, also reported spending increases exceeding 300% between 2022-23 and 2024-25.<\/p>\n
Patrick O\u2019Hara, the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council (NPCC) tactical lead on dangerous dogs, remarked that he has not witnessed this level of demand in his 26 years of service. He noted, \u201cOur need for kenneling has increased by approximately one-third since the ban was enacted, and the demand is not abating. We are now focusing intently on assessing threat, harm, and risk. In the near term, I anticipate that dog attacks will continue as these dogs mature, suggesting that the situation may worsen before it improves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts attribute part of the increased costs and duration of kenneling seized dogs to delays in the court system. They recommend prioritizing cases involving XL bullies to avoid unnecessary extended kenneling periods. Benedict Treloar, co-founder of the Campaign for Evidence-Based Regulation of Dangerous Dogs (CEBRDD), highlighted the negative consequences of prolonged kenneling for both the animals’ welfare and their owners.<\/p>\n
Dr. Samantha Gaines, head of companion animals science and policy at the RSPCA, stated that the uptick in dog seizures by law enforcement and local authorities has inflated costs associated with kenneling and euthanasia while simultaneously reducing capacity for handling such cases. She expressed concern that significant resources are being directed towards enforcing the XL bully ban rather than addressing dogs that genuinely pose risks to public safety.<\/p>\n
The RSPCA, which opposed the ban on XL bullies, advocates for mandatory documentation of dog bite incidents to better understand the scope and causes of the issue. They call for a greater emphasis on education and preventative measures over the seizure of animals.<\/p>\n
The effectiveness of the ban remains a topic of debate, with insufficient data making it challenging to determine its actual impact on dog attacks and bites. In 2024, there were 31,920 reported dog attacks in England and Wales, marking a 2% increase from 2023, the year the ban was introduced. Data for 2025 has not yet been released.<\/p>\n
There were three reported fatalities linked to XL bullies in 2025, a decrease from six in the previous year. In 2026, two dog attack-related deaths have been reported, including a child in Redcar and a 19-year-old, Jamie-Lea Biscoe, in Essex, with police yet to confirm the breeds involved in these incidents.<\/p>\n
It is important to note that statistics regarding dog attack-related fatalities may be delayed, as the UK’s death data is recorded based on when deaths are documented rather than when they occur. All deaths attributed to dangerous dogs in the UK are subject to inquests and potential criminal investigations, which can impede timely reporting.<\/p>\n
CEBRDD points to Google Trends data indicating a significant decline in searches for the XL bully breed, suggesting a decreasing interest in acquiring these dogs. Treloar noted, \u201cAlthough we estimate there are still 40,000 to 50,000 XL bullies in circulation, we expect ongoing attacks from them. However, by halting further sales and preventing an increase in their population, we hope to stabilize and eventually reduce fatalities over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Treloar concluded, \u201cWe believe the ban has already curtailed the most severe attacks, although we cannot confirm this definitively.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Expenditures on kenneling and veterinary services by police forces in England and Wales have surged more than threefold since the implementation of the XL bully ban, with certain departments experiencing nearly a 500% increase in their spending since the law took effect in 2024. Information gathered from 22 police forces through freedom of information requests […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[188,177,562,2114,139,713,88,138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-animal-welfare","category-uk-animals","category-uk-crime","category-uk-dangerous-dogs","category-uk-england","category-uk-police","category-uk","category-uk-wales"],"yoast_head":"\n