OPINION: Ireland is right to ban XL Bullies...they're modern-day monsters

I never grew up with any pets.

Despite this, I love animals. Big ones, small ones, fluffy or scaly, it doesn't much matter to me. It was this love that inspired me to sneak a stray cat into my bedroom when I was a child (much to my mother's horror), and eventually led to me giving up meat almost a decade ago. 

I think that animals have as much right to be here as humans do and that we should be their caretakers, but despite this belief, I can't help but draw the line at powerful, dangerous animals created by human hands rather than any accident of nature.

One such animal is the XL Bully.

The crossbreed falls under the 'ban-dog' category on Ireland's restricted list; it's a hybrid of a number of restricted breeds including the American Bulldog and English Bull Terrier, and other dogs who were historically bred by humans for fighting.

However, the XL Bully itself is not specifically included on the list as it is difficult to define, though they are typically large with a muscular body and blocky head, and weigh between 110 and 150 pounds. 

Twenty three year old Limerick woman, Nicole Morey, was mauled to death by her pet XL Bully last month (Tuesday June 4) after celebrating her birthday.

When I learned about her tragic death, two things came to mind.

Firstly, I felt sadness that such a young woman - who her loved ones reportedly described as having "a heart of gold" - had suffered a needless and untimely death. And secondly, as people online attempted to excuse the dog which caused her death, I also felt anger. 

I felt anger because an astonishing number of people insist on pushing an increasingly familiar line that, in my opinion, is not only deeply insulting to victims of dog attacks, is also a lie: It's the owners, not the dog.

What do people really mean when they say this? Do they mean someone who neglects their dogs, ties them up for hours on end, starves them? Do they mean someone who doesn't discipline their dogs or socialise them correctly? It's never clear, it's just never the dog's fault. 

I don't buy this. 

According to videos posted on her public TikTok, Morey - who reportedly owned several restricted breed dogs - adored them and referred to them as her "babies". A number of videos show her doting on her pets, defending them from naysayers, cuddling them in bed, dancing with them, and referring to herself as a "dog mom". 

The picture this paints is certainly not one of neglect. 

Is it still the owner's fault when they treat their animals with love and care? I think to suggest this is abhorrent, but it seems to be the prevalent opinion on social media, particularly as the breed has - inexplicably - grown in popularity in recent years. 

One of Nicole Morey's dogs

The UK recently decided to ban XL Bullies in England and Wales due to a string of attacks involving the breed, and although several hundred Bully owners marched in protest against the ban, it received very little pushback. 

According to the New Statesman, in the 20 years between 2001 and 2021 approximately three fatal dog attacks occurred in the UK every year, with the risk tripling in just the past three years. Ten people – almost half of them children – were killed by dogs in 2022, with three quarters of all killings by dogs in the past three years reportedly caused by XL Bullies. 

Ireland does not keep clear statistics on the exact number of dog attacks and the breeds which cause them, but - thankfully - despite our lack of appropriate record-keeping, we have finally seen sense since Morey's tragic death.

The Irish government has today (Friday July 12) made the decision to outlaw the breeding, importing, selling or re-homing of XL Bullies in Ireland from October this year, with owners of existing dogs required to obtain a Certificate of Exemption to keep them from February 1, 2025. 

Minister Heather Humphreys - who confirmed news of the ban earlier this afternoon - made the decision to ensure public safety, which she said is her "number one priority". 

The minister's decision - which is likely to be welcomed by the vast majority of Irish people, including many dog owners - comes following a consultation with the chairperson of the Stakeholder Group on Dog Control, Retired Deputy Garda Commissioner John Twomey. 

It shouldn't have taken so long to make such a sensible decision, but I'm glad it's now been made. 

The fact is certain breeds pose more of a danger to people than others, and to ignore this is to live our lives in a false reality. 

If we accept that some breeds display typical hereditary traits – sheepdogs like to herd, greyhounds like to chase, etc. – why can't we accept that dogs who were historically bred for fighting retain some aggressive characteristics? 

In saying that, it isn't just aggression we have to worry about, as plenty of dog breeds can exhibit such behaviour (nobody knows that better than chihuahua owners). We also have to consider the potential for destruction.

A bite from a Shih Tzu and a bite from an XL Bully are very different injuries. It's the consequences of a bite, not the bite itself, that we should most concern ourselves with. 

Dog bites aren't terribly uncommon - 3,158 emergency in-patient hospitalisations due to dog bites were recorded in Ireland between 2012 and 2021 - but not all bites are equal. 

XL Bullies typically have a bite force of approximately 300psi (pounds per square inch). A chihuhua's bite force is 100psi. For perspective, a human's is approximately 160psi. Anyone trying to compare chihuahua bites to those of pitbulls and XL Bullies – and this is a typical response to Bully criticism - is being totally disingenuous about the potential for destruction. 

Along with American Bulldog and English Bull Terriers, XL Bullies can also be created from a mix of breeds such as Cane Corsos (who have a bite force of approximately 700psi) and Presa Canarios (500psi).

A lion's bite force is between 650 to 1000psi.

If keeping lions as pets were legal, some people would almost certainly try to collar one, but lions cannot be kept as pets, and XL Bullies shouldn't be either. 

Interestingly, the bite force of a collie (220psi) isn't far off an XL Bully or a pitbull, yet I've never heard of a collie mauling a person to death.

Have you? 

Original article first published on June 7, 2024.