UK XL Bully Owners Secure Emergency Injunction to Save Dogs

A group of UK XL Bully owners has secured an emergency injunction to save their dogs.

The injunction was granted due to concerns over the breed's potential ban.

The UK government had been considering adding the XL Bully to the list of banned breeds.

This would have meant that owners would have been forced to give up their dogs or face prosecution.

A High Court judge has granted a temporary injunction to save XL bully dogs from being euthanized, ordering that no XL bully dog may be seized from a rehoming organisation and/or destroyed for want of, or ineligibility for, a certification of exemption since October 31.

Carla Lane Animals in Need, a 40-year-old rescue centre in Liverpool, made the eleventh-hour legal bid that led to this positive outcome.

Campaigners say this gives rescue centres "breathing space for now", allowing them to focus on rehoming these dogs without the immediate threat of euthanization.

The full consequences of putting these dogs down will be considered by judges later this month.

Don't Ban Me Licence Me, the umbrella group crowdfunding for a judicial review, sees this as a strengthening of their case.

John Cooper KC of 25 Bedford Row has been instructed to lead the case for a judicial review hearing.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs maintains that their approach is needed to reduce the risks to the public, despite the ongoing legal challenges.

In the UK, a judicial review is a process that allows individuals to challenge the lawfulness of a decision made by a public body.

The High Court has the power to grant an emergency injunction, which can be used to prevent harm or damage before a full judicial review has taken place.

A judicial review can be used to challenge a wide range of decisions, including those made by local authorities, government departments, and public bodies.

The court's decision in the case of XL Bully highlights the importance of judicial review in ensuring that public bodies act lawfully.

The emergency injunction was granted due to the potential harm that XL Bully posed to the public.

The court's power to grant an emergency injunction can be used in situations where there is a real risk of harm or damage.

240 XL Bullies were due to be destroyed today.

The new law means XL Bullies whose owners have not applied for exemption should be destroyed.

A rehoming centre, Carla Lane Animals in Need, applied for a court injunction and was granted a temporary reprieve.

This means any XL Bully taken into a rescue centre since October 31 will not currently have to be put down.

The law has not been changed, but the centre has been given further time for the issue to be considered by the Court.

For now, rescues do not have to destroy dogs who came into their care after 31 October 2023.

Any XL Bully type dog which has not been granted an exemption will have to be destroyed in England and Wales.