Mapped: How many dog attacks have there been in your area since the XL Bully ban?

More than 20,000 dog attacks were reported to police across England and Wales in the 12 months since the introduction of the XL Bully ban, with one force seeing the number increase by more than a third compared to the previous year.

A ban was introduced in February last year under a change to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 after 16 deaths by dog bites in 2023 – more than double the six fatalities in 2022.

There were also 11,000 hospital admissions for dog bites in England in 2023/24.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak declared the XL Bully dog a danger to communities, placing it on the list of prohibited breeds that include the Pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa Dogo Argentino and Fila Braziliero.

However, animal groups that come under the Dog Control Coalition argued the ban was unfair on responsible dog owners and their pets. More than 800 XL Bully dogs have been enthused by police since the ban came into force.

There are still tens of thousands of XL Bully dogs kept by owners who applied for exemption certificates in exchange for insuring and microchipping their pet, and agreeing to keep it muzzled and on a lead in public.

In the first set of annual data on dog attacks since the ban came in, The Independent can reveal that the number of incidents reported to forces increased year-on-year.

Freedom of Information Act request responses received from 32 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales showed there were at least 23,064 logged incidents of an owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in any place injuring any person or assistance dog from 1 February last year to 31 January this year.

The real figure will be higher with three forces – West Midlands, Sussex and Greater Manchester – providing data for only 11 months of latest 12-month period.

It is up by one from 23,063 the year before, and well up from the 14,212 five years ago.

Some forces saw big increases, such as Cleveland Police which had a 34 per cent increase in incidents from last year. Gwent, Devon and Cornwall and Warwickshire forces also saw the figure go up significantly. Other forces did see a reduction. The number of incidents reported to the Met Police fell by 20 per cent.

The number of incidents could not be broken down by breed, and could be impacted by an update in Crown Prosecution Service guidance last year that said dog-on-dog attacks could potentially be included.

In January, the National Policing Chief Council did warn that the legislation would be no immediate fix to the issue, while calling on support to deal with the issue that is estimated to cost £25m in kennel and veterinary costs by April this year. Forces also seized almost 5,000 banned dogs in the six months after the ban, said the NPCC.

Among those against the ban was the RSPCA, which is part of the Dog Control Coalition. Dr Samantha Gaines, head of companion animal welfare at the charity, told The Independent: “We absolutely did not support the change in legislation banning XL bullies. As well as an alarming rise in the number of cases of deliberate cruelty to these dogs, the RSPCA is concerned about the welfare of thousands of other XL Bully type dogs as a result of the restrictions placed on them by the ban.

“We instead want governments to tackle the root causes of aggressive behaviour in dogs by cracking down on irresponsible breeding and promoting responsible ownership, as well as ensuring effective enforcement of legislation and strong punishments for those who use dogs dangerously.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “The ban on XL Bullies is there to protect public safety and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with the strict conditions.

“Ongoing dog attacks show we need to do more to protect public safety. We will continue to encourage responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog and to consider whether the current dog control rules are sufficient to ensure communities are protected.”