I’m a dog bite expert – here are five most dangerous breeds and why XL Bully ban won’t stop maulings
BRITAIN'S leading dog bite expert says a ban on XL Bully dogs WON'T stop attacks - with five other breeds behind most maulings.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman wants the so-called 'Devil Dogs' banned after a rampaging hound savaged an 11-year-old girl and two others in Birmingham.
Terrified Ana Paun, 11, described how the animal pounced after lying unleashed in a bus shelter as she walked past to buy sweets from a corner shop.
But James McNally, aka 'The Solicitor', said problems with dangerous dogs in Britain go "much deeper" than a single breed.
His firm deals with around 400 dog bite-related claims at a time but none of them currently concern XL Bully dogs.
American bullys have been responsible for 73 per cent of dog-related deaths in the UK since 2022 but make up a tiny percentage of the total canine population.
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But Mr McNally says most of his clients are nipped by dogs that aren't illegal, such as Japanese Akitas, Malamute Huskies, Jack Russell Terriers, Greyhounds and Border Collies.
And he warned adding more breeds to a banned list was "the last thing we need", as he dismissed Home Secretary Suella Braverman's demands to outlaw XL Bullies.
He explained: "For the last 30 years lawmakers have been struggling to enforce poorly thought-through legislation.
"The last thing we need is more of the same. Banning XL Bullies isn't going to stop dog attacks.
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"If they are banned, they aren't just going to disappear overnight, and I suspect all that will happen is a new type of dog will be bred which gets round the ban."
Mr McNally, of Slee Blackwell Solicitors, said there was usually a "criminal element" to owning violent dogs, which are capable of causing injury.
He said those involved in drugs and prostitution were likely to want to keep the animals as they could offer some form of "protection" for their illicit affairs.
But he warned: "Problems then arise as they are bred in such numbers that they are being given away or sold cheaply to people who want a dog themselves.
"That's how they end up in a family environment close to children and that's when many of these terrible tragedies we hear about take place."
He said the law on dangerous dogs - which prohibits the breeding and sale of certain types of hound - needed to be "thrown out" and rewritten to protect the public.
Legislation that properly controls and promotes better dog breeding and dog ownership may be the answer, he suggested.
