GWENT Police have confirmed that three XL Bully dogs have been seized during a number of warrants carried out in Newport. 

Members of Newport's neighbourhood policing team were executing warrants in the Newport areas of Pill, Bettws and Rogerstone on the morning of Tuesday, October 15. 

Three XL Bullies were seized during the warrant, while three wanted males were also located and arrested as part of the warrants. 

The warrants come just over a week after a 12-year-old girl was attacked by an XL Bully type dog on Monday, October, 7, with the child being taken to hospital and the animal being put down. 

It is also less than a year after a ban on XL Bullies was put in place in February 2024, with owners of XL Bullies needing to register their dogs from December 31, 2023. 

In the UK, it’s against the law to own certain types of dog.

These are the:

  • Pit Bull Terrier
  • Japanese Tosa
  • Dogo Argentino
  • Fila Brasileiro

XL Bully dogs are banned in England and Wales.

It’s against the law to:

  • sell a banned dog
  • abandon a banned dog
  • give away a banned dog
  • breed from a banned dog.

On 31 December 2023, the first stage of the XL Bully ban came into effect after the breed was added the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

The second stage of the XL bully ban came in to effect in February 2024.

Now, it is a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless your dog is registered and has a Certificate of Exemption, third party insurance, with the dog muzzled and on a lead in a public place. If not, police may have the power to seize it.

Further advice from the Government on owning XL bullies can be found here.