Nearly 50 XL Bully dogs surrendered since dangerous breed outlawed in Ireland
Nearly 50 dogs have been surrendered to local authorities since a new law outlawing the dogs came into effect.
Since February 1, it has been illegal to own the dangerous dog without a 'certificate of exemption'.
The decision by the last Government followed a number of high-profile attacks by the XL Bully dogs.
This includes the tragic fatal attack on Nicole Morey, 23, in Limerick in June 2024.
In November 2022, nine-year-old Alejandro Mizsan was savagely attacked by a 10-month-old XL Bully dog, suffering injuries to his face, body and legs.
From October 2024, it became illegal to import, breed, rehome or resell an XL Bully dog.
In February, it became illegal to own an XL Bully dog unless you have a Certificate of Exemption. The certificate means a person can keep their XL Bully at their address until the end of their natural life.
In response to queries from Fine Gael TD Maeve O'Connell, Rural Protection Minister Dara Calleary confirmed that 'over 1,800 applications for 'Certificates of Exemption' were received, and to date almost 1,000 have been granted'.
Mr Calleary said: 'A 'Certificate of Exemption' cannot be granted for an XL Bully that has not yet been neutered or deemed medically unfit for neutering.
'As it is not advised to neuter an XL Bully type dog until it has reached full maturity, the number of 'Certificates of Exemption' granted is likely to increase each month going forward and will not be definitive until the June 2026 figures are provided by local authorities.'
Minister Calleary told Deputy O'Connell that local authorities do not provide his Department with details of the number of XL Bully-type dogs seized.
However, he confirmed that 48 dogs had been surrendered between the ban's effective date and the end of March. This included 11 in Dublin City Council and 10 in Limerick.
Dogs were also surrendered in 16 other local authority areas including Cavan (two), Cork city (four), Donegal (two), Fingal (two), Galway city (one), Kildare (four), Longford (one), Louth (one), Mayo (one), Meath (one), Sligo (one), South Dublin (two), Tipperary (two) and Waterford (three).
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