The XL bully dog continues to kill people in England and Wales despite a specific law which bans the breed unless the owner obtains a licence and keeps the dog under certain strict conditions such as wearing a muzzle and on a lead in public places.
But it is believed that there are many thousands of XL Bully dogs in England and Wales which are being kept outside of this law without a licence. And, today, we are told of another case of an XL Bully killing a person; this time Esther Martin, a grandmother, who was visiting her grandson at a house in Jaywick, Essex, in February.
The man who owned the two XL bully dogs which killed Ms Martin is Ashley Warren, 40, and he is due to appear at Colchester magistrates court on August 22 over the death. This is the first prosecution of its kind since the ban on owning this dangerous breed came into force in February.
Warren of Lyton, north-east London, and formerly of Jaywick, has been charged with two counts of owning or being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control. He’s also been charged with causing injury resulting in death and being in possession or having custody of a fighting dog.
He also faces charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This must be a charge of animal cruelty or abuse as this act governs the rules on domestic animal caretaking.
And finally, he’s been charged on a single count of possession of a bladed article and in possession of a class B drug.
Esther Martin isn’t the only grandmother who’s been killed by an XL Bully. The above-mentioned charges came after an inquest found another grandmother had been killed in an unprovoked attack by an XL Bully. Her name was Shirley Patrick, 83. She died in hospital on December 20, 17 days after she was attacked in Caerphilly, South Wales.
Four people were arrested in connection with this attack resulting in her death but no charges were brought. Subsequently Patrick’s daughter, Gail Jones, 65, said that there had been a lack of justice for her mother.
