Tom Wood
A man who owns the world’s biggest Pitbull dog has explained how he thinks people are getting banned dogs into the UK.
There’s much discussion of banned dogs at the moment, with American XL Bully dogs expected to be added to the list of illegal breeds, joining Pitbull terriers, the Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro.
Yesterday, a man was charged with murder after a suspected dog attack in Houghton-le-Spring near Sunderland.
It’s clear that illegal dogs are entering the UK somehow, but how is that possible?
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Well, Marlon Greenan, the owner of a dog called Hulk that is twelve and a half stone and reportedly worth two million quid, has his theories.
Greenan, who trains protection dogs in New Hampshire, USA, believes that ‘maybe even one or two’ of his dog’s offspring are already in the UK.
Pitbulls have been banned since the Dangerous Dogs Act was brought forward in 1991, but Hulk fathered a litter of eight puppies back in 2016, and Greenan reckons some are on these shores.
"I have a large fan base in the UK and people will message me saying we’ve seen such and such a dog, so I know that Hulk’s grandchildren are in the UK and maybe even one or two of his direct kids," he said.
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"I’ve never sent my dogs to the UK myself.
"There’s no way I would send a pit bull to a country where they are banned.
"But the bottom line is you can’t stop specific breeds getting into Britain because there will always be people who break the rules."
Outlining how the dogs do actually end up in the UK illegally, he admits that it can be pretty easy, really.
"It’s a lot easier than you would assume,” Greenan explained.
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“It’s quite simple.
“The dog just comes with paperwork that says it’s something else other than a pit bull or XL,
"Breed-specific bans just don’t work. If people want to break the law and get these animals into the country then they will.
"A lot of people just want to get rich from dogs.
"The Government needs to take the money it will use to enforce the ban and use it to educate people on how to raise their dogs properly."
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To get into the UK, an animal must be vaccinated, microchipped, and have a pet or health certificate, according to the UK government’s website.
On September 15, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed to have the XL Bully banned following a number of attacks.
He said: "The American XL Bully Dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.
"I share the nation's horror at the recent videos we've all seen.
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"Yesterday we saw another suspected XL Bully Dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.
"It's clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs.
"It's a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on."