The vast majority of Britons support allowing owners to retain XL Bully dogs, which have been linked to several fatal assaults this year, so long as the dogs are neutered and muzzled in public.
Five-thirds of British adults agreed with the statement “be obliged to neuter them and leash and muzzle them in public” when asked by YouGov whether dog owners should be allowed to keep their pets.
This way, the potentially hazardous breed might gradually be removed from the streets.
On October 5, YouGov polled 2,398 adults. Ten percent of respondents said they were totally against the potentially deadly dog breed ban.
A similar percentage of Britons (13%) also think all XL Bullies should be “seized and destroyed,” while 13% believe they should be neutered and confined in a secure location.
Gender differences emerged, with males slightly more likely to think the dogs should be destroyed than women. Once the dogs were neutered and muzzled, women were more likely to support keeping them with their current owners than males.
Twenty-six percent of those between 18 and 24 said dogs should not be banned. Older adults (19%) were the most inclined to agree that they should be eradicated.
Those who backed Brexit’s departure from the European Union in 2016 were 7% more likely to agree that they must be destroyed.
Eight violent dog attacks, most using XL Bully dogs, have occurred in Britain in the past year, resulting in six fatalities.
NHS data shows that the number of people admitted to hospitals due to dog attacks reached a record high of 9,424 in 2017, which has increased by more than a third in only a decade.
In 2022, the United Kingdom experienced many fatal dog attacks. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under more pressure than ever to outlaw the species swiftly.
