XL Bully dog applications: top three postcodes in Wales

The UK government recently introduced strict rules on the ownership of American XL Bully dogs. 

It became illegal to sell, give away, abandon, breed, or take an XL bully dog out in public without a lead or muzzle from December 31, 2023. 

A full ban on XL Bully dogs came into force on February 1, which made it a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog without an exemption certificate.  

If you have applied for an exemption certificate, owners must: 

• Buy insurance 

• Get their dog microchipped 

• Pay a fee of £92.40 per animal 

• Neuter their XL Bully by June 30 2024 

• Neuter their dog by the end of 2024 if their dog is less than one years old by Jan 31st 

The top three postcodes with the most XL Bully applications 

The postcode with the highest number of applications was NP19 with 118 which includes: Eastern and East Central Newport, Beechwood, Maindee, St Julians and Ringland.  

This area ranked 25th in the post codes with the highest number of applications across the entire UK.  

In second place for Wales was NP4 with 87 applications and this postcode includes: Pontypool, Blaenavon, Little Mill and Glascoed.  

The third highest in Wales with 83 applications was CF37 which includes: Pontypridd, Cilfynydd, Glyncoch, Graig, Treforest, Hopkinstown, Trallwng, Maesycoed, Pwllgwaun, Hawthorn, Rhydfelen, Trehafod, Ynysybwl and Coed-y-Cwm. 

The graph on the right is a flipped map of the UK and the original source is The Spectator. 

XL Bully incidents in South Wales 

A 15-year-old boy was taken to hospital with minor injuries after an XL bully attacked him in Caerphilly last month.  

The attack took place at an address in Farm Road, Pontlottyn, Caerphilly at 3.20pm and police, firearm officers and paramedics attended the scene.  

The 15-year-old boy escaped the incident with no injuries, believed to be life-threatening or life-changing. 

In this case, the police confirmed the dog was an XL bully registered with the Department for Environmental, Food & Rural Affairs. 

The police said the XL Bully was humanely destroyed by a veterinary surgeon.

In 2022 a man and a woman were jailed after a 10-year-old boy was killed by a dog in an “utterly tragic and needless event”.

Jack Lis was mauled to death by an American Bully or XL Bully dog called Beast while playing at a friend’s house in Pentwyn, Penyrheol, Caerphilly, South Wales, after school on November 8, 2021.

Amy Salter, 29, and Brandon Hayden, 19, were jailed for the incident.

Amy Salter and Brandon Hayden (Image: Gwent Police)

Footage played to the court shows Hayden with 100lb Beast outside the village shop Top Stores on Heol Aneurin where he struggled to keep the animal under control, barking and lunging at a young girl. Another clip captures the dog running at a boy, who drops his scooter, runs away and hides behind a wall. Within days the dog had attacked and killed Jack Lis.

CCTV still dated 4/11/2021 of the dog Beast outside the village shop Top Stores on Heol Aneurin, Caerphilly, after it ran at a boy who dropped his scooter (Gwent Police/PA) (Image: Gwent Police)

In December 2022, an XBully dog attacked an 83-year-old woman in Caerphilly who died 17 days after being hospitalised.

Shirley Patrick, 83, was mauled at an address in Heol Fawr, Penyrheol. The great-grandmother, who had dementia, suffered significant injuries during the attack. Tragically the incident happened just half a mile from where Jack Lis died.

At the time, four people were arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control causing injury have been released under conditional bail.

Since then, mum of Jack Lis, Emma Whitfield, has campaigned tirelessly for a change in the law around ownership of dangerous dogs and tougher sentences for those found guilty of having a dog out of control.