Sixty XL bully crossbreed dogs have been surrendered to local authorities since a ban on the breed and crossbreed variations was announced last year.
It follows an incident at the weekend in Cork city in which a woman in her 30s was seriously injured in an attack at her home by her dog, understood to be a pit bull crossbreed. The dog was euthanised by a vet.
The ban was introduced following a number of high-profile incidents, including the death of Nicole Morey (23) from Limerick city after she was attacked in June last year by her dogs when she returned home from a night out celebrating her birthday.
It also followed an attack in 2023 on a young Wexford boy, Alejandro Mizsan. Then minister for rural and community affairs Heather Humphreys established a working group to look at strengthening policy and legislation on dog control and followed up with a ban on the breed.
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XL Bully dogs are described as a variant of the American bully breed. The XL bully is typically larger and more muscular than other American bully breeds, which include ‘micro’, ‘pocket’, ‘standard’ and ‘classic’.
At the time Ms Humphreys said there was a need for responsible breeding practices and told the Dáil: “It’s not Jurassic Park here.”
The ban on the dogs was brought in over two stages, giving owners who wanted to keep their animals four months, between October 2024 and February 2025, to apply for a certificate of exemption, under which their dog must be neutered.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon, who has responsibility for animal welfare, said owners of XL bully type dogs who did not wish to keep their animal could surrender it to their local authority dog warden service where the dog would be “euthanised in a humane manner”.
Figures released in his response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig Ó Sullivan show that, up to the end of May this year, 60 XL bully crossbreeds were handed into local authorities to be euthanised.
[ Widow of murder victim ordered to pay €11,000 for care of seized XL Bully dogsOpens in new window ]
The authority in Limerick saw the highest number of surrenders, with 13 dogs handed in, while there were 11 dogs surrendered in Dublin city. Seven dogs were surrendered to the local authority in Waterford, with four each handed in to Cork City Council and Kildare County Council.
Three dogs were surrendered in each of Cavan and Donegal, two were surrendered in Tipperary and one was surrendered in each of Westmeath, Sligo, Mayo, Meath, Longford, Galway city and Clare.
Mr O’Sullivan, a long-time campaigner on animal rights, expressed his concern about the recent attack on the dog owner in his Cork North-Central constituency and about the practices of dog breeders in Ireland generally.
He said about 7,000 to 8,000 puppies are registered annually. If this is the case, how could a website called dogs.ie have 25,500 puppies for sale last year, he asked.
“Some of the practices in the sector are very concerning. It is an industry estimated to be worth around €150 million per annum.”
Mr O’Sullivan said there is a “clear case” for Revenue to look, particularly at non-registered or backyard breeding establishments. He said animal welfare abuse fines could be “a measly €500″.
“Anybody who knows anything about the industry knows the pups are often going for €1,000 or €2,000,” he said.
He pointed out that the UK has a population 15 times larger than Ireland “yet we produce half the number of pups they do”.
“That shows the extent of the dog-breeding in this country. Much of it is done properly and correctly by responsible breeders but, unfortunately, much of it goes under the radar.”
