Publication of correspondence: Letter to the Minister for Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare
31 January 2024
Ahead of the 1 February deadline by which all XL Bully dogs must be registered, the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Sir Robert Goodwill, has today written to Lord Douglas-Miller, the Minister for Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare, regarding a key element of the new regulations.
In December, the Committee wrote to the Department raising a number of concerns around the Government’s ban on XL bully dogs and received a reply from the Department on 18 January. Today’s letter specifically follows up on the issue of neutering dogs aged less than one year old on 31 January 2024, and calls for an extension, from December 2024 to June 2025, of the deadline for neutering these dogs, to take account of veterinary concerns that neutering a dog under the age of 18 months may increase their risk of developmental orthopaedic problems, alongside other medical conditions. The Committee’s letter states this would also ensure the veterinary profession can be better prepared to manage the number of dogs which will fall within the regulations.
The letter also asks what steps the Government is taking to put in place a process for owners to deregister dogs which have been inadvertently registered as XL bullies.
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