A WOMAN in London has been mauled to death by her two registered extra-large bull dogs in the latest tragedy involving the banned breed, the police said on Tuesday.
The woman, in her 50s, was fatally attacked in Hornchurch, a suburb in East London.
Police said she was pronounced dead at the scene and the two registered dogs were seized after being contained in a room.
Since February 1, it became a criminal offence to own the extra-large bull breed in England and Wales without an exemption certificate.
Anyone who owns one of the dogs must have had the animal neutered, have it micro chipped and keep it muzzled and on a lead in public, among other restrictions.
The British government’s move to ban extra-large bullies followed a series of attacks by the larger and more muscular version the American Bully breed.
The breed is relatively new.
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According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 16 deaths due to dog attacks in 2023, a sharp rise from preceding years where the number had been in single figures.
As of late 2023, around 60 per cent of dogs held in police kennels were a bull breed of some kind.
The attack in Hornchurch comes after a mother and son were jailed a week earlier when an eight year old boy was injured in a savage and sustained attack by their extra-large bully. The boy suffered extensive injuries to his scalp, face and hands in the attack in the communal area of a block of flats in Merseyside, England on February 10. (dpa/NAN)
