Campaigners have been given the green light to bring a High Court challenge against the Government’s decision to ban XL bully dogs.
XL bully owner Sophie Coulthard, 40, and campaign group Don’t Ban Me, Licence Me (DBMLM) are taking legal action against the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) over the large bulldog-type American breed being added to a banned list under Dangerous Dogs Act in October last year.
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Since February, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets will be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted.
The Government move to ban XL bullies followed a series of attacks on people.
But campaigners argue that the ban is unlawful and irrational, claiming it was based on “unreliable” material, lacked a “proper” analysis over its impact and includes “vague” standards that risked people unknowingly committing a criminal offence.
Government lawyers say the legal challenge should be dismissed and that campaigners’ arguments are “meritless”.
At a hearing in London on Wednesday, judge Mrs Justice Dias said campaigners had an “arguable” case in certain areas, granting permission for the challenge to proceed to a trial at a later date.
Cathryn McGahey KC, representing campaigners, said the ban came from a “hasty” announcement by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in September last year, the day after a fatal dog attack, which led to legal errors.
In written arguments, the barrister said Defra has “no material on which to base a rational decision that dogs involved in recent attacks were disproportionately of XL bully type”.
For many dog owners, a criminal conviction may be career-ending, losing to the loss of employment and ultimately their home
CATHRYN MCGAHEY KC
She said the Government estimated there were 10,000 XL bullies in the UK, but 57,301 have been registered.
Ms McGahey said there was no analysis of the numbers of other dog types involved in fatal attacks, adding: “If five XL bullies have been involved in fatal attacks out of a population of 50,000, and one German shepherd dog out of a population of 10,000, then XL bullies are no more dangerous than German shepherds.”
“Before seeking to impose a ban, the defendant should have conducted proper research into the types of dogs in fact involved in serious attacks,” the lawyer said.