The upcoming ban on XL bully dogs will “force” vets to euthanise “perfectly good-natured" dogs, according to Pete the Vet. 

From October 1st, there will be a ban on the breeding, rehoming, reselling and importing XL bully dogs. 

From February 1st, people will not be allowed to own the breed unless they are neutered and microchipped and have proper certification. 

Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys outlined the plan on Friday, saying “no dog’s life is worth more than human life”. 

Pete the Vet disagrees with the upcoming ban, telling The Anton Savage Show you can’t assume all XL bullies are aggressive or dangerous. 

“One of the real challenges now that we're facing is that vets across the country are going to be asked to euthanise perfectly healthy, perfectly good-natured XL bullies,” he said. 

“Look, I'd much rather be bitten by a chihuahua than an XL bully - there's no doubt. 

“But you can't just generalise that that means that they're all very bad and dangerous - it's just definitely not the case.” 

Pete said it would be more effective to enforce proper training for all XL bully dogs, such as “dog training certificates”. 

Implementing XL bully ban

The vet also noted it’s very easy to say something is “banned” - but it is hard to actually implement the law. 

“We already are very bad in this country at enforcing dog-related law,” he said. 

“Probably only one in three people actually have dog licenses because it's not enforced.” 

The ban on the breed comes following the death of Nicole Morey in Limerick, who was killed by her dog last month. 

An XL Bully. Image: Damien Platt / Alamy

Pete said the issue with dog safety isn’t XL bullies. 

“The issue is that people want to have large, muscular, powerful dogs,” he said. 

“Banning one breed... all it's going to do is it's going to kick the problem down the road. 

“In five years' time, there'll be far more cane corsos, bullmastiffs, goodness only knows what big muscular dogs imported from other countries of a slightly different breed.” 

The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has also said it is concerned some dogs could be abandoned due to the ban. 

Listen back here as Pete answers your pet questions: