XL Bully dogs are banned from mass protest walk ‘to show how gentle the breed’ is in Birmingham after huge backlash
- Protestors planned a mass dog walk to show that American Bully XLs are gentle
- Leaders later banned American Bully XLs following major online backlash
The organisers of a mass protest walk intended to show that American Bully XL’s are ‘gentle’ has banned owners from bringing the dogs along to the march which is scheduled to happen in Birmingham this weekend.
The protestors initially said they wanted to show how ‘gentle the breed really is’ and hoped to see ‘as many people and kids as possible’ at the event which is set to be held at an as-yet unidentified location in Birmingham on September 30.
However, protest leaders later banned American Bully XLs from coming to the mass demonstration after initially planning a large-scale walk of the controversial dogs in protest to UK government proposals to outlaw them.
The plans to march came after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described American Bully XLs as ‘a danger to our communities, particularly our children,’ and outlined plans to ban the breed by the end of the year.
They had originally said all dogs were ‘welcome’ as they aimed to prove the government wrong but later u-turned following huge backlash against the plans, which were branded ‘extremely irresponsible’.
Protest leaders banned American Bully XLs from coming to a march to ‘show how gentle’ the breed really is
The protest was in response to the UK government’s plans to outlaw American Bully XL dogs
The backlash saw concerned critics voice their fears that American Bully XLs are ‘dangerous’ as one critics described the plans as ‘highly irresponsible’ and ‘highly insensitive’ towards any XL Bully victims’.
The protest coordinators later updated their plans by banning American Bully XLs from the march. An updated poster for the mass-walk event now reads: ‘No dogs allowed.’
READ MORE: XL Bully dog owners announce Birmingham mass walk to show how ‘gentle’ the breed really is – as organisers say: ‘Bring as many people and kids as possible’
A post by the 0121 Bullys Instagram page reads: ‘Got too much press and too much riding on this now we need to make T-shirts, banners, jumpers, anything to show off our loving giants. Everyone please share this far and wide.’
Jake Harris, who runs the account, previously told BirminghamLive the meet-up was being organised because of the ‘need to show people that the XL Bullies are not the problem’. He continued: ‘It’s all about the owners – I’ve got three XL Bullies and not one of them would hurt a soul.
‘Yes they might look big and scary but they are big family dogs! I’ve my fingers crossed there will be a lot of families there. We need to stand up for our dogs. We need to show the government how friendly and loving our big dogs are.’
The U-turn followed major backlash against the plans on social media as concerned people described it as an ‘accident waiting to happen’.
Claire Banner, who claimed to own two American Bully XLs herself, described the plans as a ‘terrible idea’ as she warned the protest could turn out to be a ‘disaster’.
‘I have two Bully’s (socialised and very friendly ) and I personally think this is a terrible idea everyone has said its not the breed it’s the irresponsible owners which I 100 per cent agree but how many irresponsible owners are going to be there?’ Ms Banner said.
‘That haven’t socialised their dog and they haven’t spent time training it. It’s a good idea everyone getting together but with this potentially being a massive turnout, mixing thousands of dogs along with people and children is going to be a disaster and could be very dangerous,’ she said.
Protest leaders reversed plans for a mass walk as they banned dogs from coming along
Charlie Ree said the plans to protest are ‘highly insensitive’ towards the victims of American Bully XL attacks.
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE – Why more people will die unless the XL Bully is BANNED: Experts warn the American crossbreed can kill in 60 seconds and UK deaths will soar as breeders ‘create monsters’ by changing DNA of the animals to give them ‘enhanced muscles’
‘This is not only highly insensitive for victims’ loves ones but it is extremely irresponsible – anyone who knows anything about dogs knows pack walks with strange dogs who don’t know each other is unfair on the dogs unless they have been PROVEN to never react to this kind of situation before,’ Mr Ree said.
‘I am sorry but this shows how uneducated some people are about dog behaviour! You take an adolescent or sensitive dog into this type of set-up, they will be over threshold very quickly which is unfair on the dogs, no matter how friendly they are at home within their own families!’
Tori Ann posted: ‘What a ridiculous idea! This is a massive accident waiting to happen! It could happen with a bunch of pugs that don’t know each other or any breed for that matter! There must be a better way than a mass XL Bully ‘rally’.’
Ellie Chapman said: ‘As much as I support not banning the breed, let’s hope owners think carefully about whether their dogs can manage being around that many others or it could go the opposite way.’
Christine Robinson said: ‘Dogs should be kept at home really. Too many in the same space might not be a good idea and would upset the protest.. I love bullies and my experience of them has been they’re lovely animals and just want to sit on your lap! Bad owners have caused this ban along with the bad breeding!’
Reiss Purcell said: ‘As much as I agree with the argument, it’s still a bad idea. Even friendly dogs may not react well to being around so many different ones. The government needs to start handing out harsher punishments to the owners and breeders who train their dogs so poorly.’
Valerie Dunn, however, said the dogs were not the problem. She added: ‘The dog’s are not the problem it’s the irresponsible backstreet breeders and irresponsible owners.’
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