A suspected XL bully dog was seized in a police raid in Stevenage after a man was bitten on the arm, Hertfordshire Police said.
A man in his 20s was arrested on Thursday at a property in Wisden Road on suspicion of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control. The seizure followed an attack on Saturday at a house in the same street, where another man needed hospital treatment after being bitten.
The case has landed in the middle of the current rules on American XL bully ownership, which are restricted under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Since 31 December 2023, it has been illegal to sell, give away, abandon or breed from an XL bully, and since 1 February 2024 it has been a criminal offence to own one without an exemption certificate.
The dog was described as suspected to be an XL bully, and the wording leaves one open question: whether that status has been formally confirmed. Police have not said whether the arrested man has been charged, and they have not given any indication yet of what happens to the seized dog next.
