Police have shot a dog – described by a local councillor as an “XL bully type dog” – after it injured two people in Newtownards.
Officers responded to reports of a dog that attacked a man and woman in the Rathmullan Drive area today.
Emergency services responded to the incident in the Scrabo estate shortly after 6.30pm. .
The pair were given first aid for their injuries at the scene before being taken to hospital.
The dog was “destroyed” by specially trained officers due to being a risk to the public.
Several officers attended including the PSNI dog unit.
A PSNI spokesman said: “Police attended a property in the Rathmullen Drive area of Newtownards on Thursday 3rd April, following a report that a dog attacked a man and a woman.
“The man and woman were given first aid for their injuries at the scene before being conveyed to hospital. The dog was destroyed by specially trained officers, due to the risk to the public.
“As is normal procedure, the office of the Police Ombudsman have been informed.”
DUP councillor Stephen McIlveen expressed his concern at the incident, saying it was “worrying news coming from the Scrabo this evening, with an XL bully type dog having to be killed by armed police”.
"I'm hoping that no one is seriously injured. It's terribly sad that an animal has been killed in this way, but a heavily populated area where there are young children is not a suitable place for dogs such as these that are known to pose such a risk,” added the DUP Group Leader on Ards and North Down Borough Council.
It has been illegal since the start of the year to own an XL bully in Northern Ireland without an exemption certificate.
For the dogs to be eligible for exemption, they must be microchipped, licensed and have third-party insurance.
The dogs must also be neutered as part of the exemption conditions, although this can be completed after the application is submitted.
XL bully-type dogs were added to the list of restricted breeds in Northern Ireland last summer.
by Sweet-Insurance9993
8 comments
Why has it been illegal since last summer to own one and yet I keep seeing the bastards everywhere? Unmuzzled albeit on a leash.
I am a massive dog lover but there needs to be more serious action taken against people who even breed these types of dogs.
Fella I am unfortunate enough to know goes through these dogs every couple of years because he keeps buying them, they inevitably bite someone or kill someone else’s pet, then it gets put down. We all know the types who own these dogs but it’s fucking cruel.
There’s a Temu Conor McGregor (ok that doesn’t work as McRapist is trash already) in my town who breeds these fekkers and calls one of them biggie smalls
Does anyone else not understand the whole exemption thing? I’m not worried about XL Bullies being unchipped, unlicensed and uninsured, I’m worried about them ripping the throats out of toddlers. Presumably microchipped, fully licensed and third-party insured dogs with a purposefully bred killing instinct can still do that. Just fucking destroy them all.
Good
ards council environmental team or whatever that joke department is called that is in charge of dogs says its ok for dogs to run about off leads. I even have it in writing, clowns. This was 2 days after the ruling that all dogs must be kept on a lease near livestock areas.
I am not in favour of xl bullies at all but in this case the owners were awful, I know this house and it’s a pure shit hole, it’s a dog breeding house and I’m sure alot of the neighbours have some horror stories from it, it’s the third time someone has been attacked in this house from xls, one was a child last year the air ambulance had to arrive
These dogs are pretty much bred for aggression, should they not be special ownership only?
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