1. From Hannah Denny:
Question to Jason Zadrozny, Leader of the Council -
“As you will be aware national legislation came into force on 31st December 2023 regarding XL bullies.
From 31 December 2023 it became against the law to:
* Sell an XL Bully dog
* Abandon an XL Bully dog
* Give away an XL Bully dog
* Breed from an XL Bully dog
* Have an XL Bully in public without a lead and muzzle
Hundreds of dogs in shelters have been euthanised already due to the non rehoming law, hundreds and hundreds more are reportedly being abandoned in the streets by their owners who are either struggling with all the new legislation’s, or having exempted their dog, being given eviction notices from their homes due to having a banned breed.
From February 1st 2024, it will be a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog unless it is covered by public liability insurance, microchipped, neutered and has a Certificate of Exemption. If the owners are unable to achieve every one of these in just a few weeks, they by law must arrange for their pet to be euthanised.
Cost.
Insurance - £25 (dogs trust)
Microchipping - around £20
Neutering - up to £400
Government exemption -£92.40
This totals up to over £500, which many people simply cannot afford.
To put this in context, The average monthly food budget in the UK is £194 per person.
Under the Government’s compensation scheme, owners of XL Bully dogs who elect to have their dogs euthanised are then entitled to claim £200 towards these costs.
Locally vets for pets in Ashfield have now confirmed they will euthanise healthy dogs - while this is a national issue, it’s happening here in Ashfield!
Many people in Ashfield strongly disagree with Healthy animals being put down unnecessarily through no fault of their own.
Could you outline your position on this? Also what stance and actions Ashfield District Council intend to take to support these dogs and their owners.”
Minutes:
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, the following question had
been submitted by Hannah Denny:
“As you will be aware national legislation came into force on 31st December 2023 regarding XL bullies.
From 31 December 2023 it became against the law to:
* Sell an XL Bully dog
* Abandon an XL Bully dog
* Give away an XL Bully dog
* Breed from an XL Bully dog
* Have an XL Bully in public without a lead and muzzle
Hundreds of dogs in shelters have been euthanised already due to the non
rehoming law, hundreds and hundreds more are reportedly being abandoned in the streets by their owners who are either struggling with all the new legislation’s, or having exempted their dog, being given eviction notices from their homes due to having a banned breed.
From February 1st 2024, it will be a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog unless it is covered by public liability insurance, microchipped, neutered and has a Certificate of Exemption. If the owners are unable to achieve every one of these in just a few weeks, they by law must arrange for their pet to be euthanised.
Cost.
Insurance - £25 (dogs trust)
Microchipping - around £20
Neutering - up to £400
Government exemption -£92.40
This totals up to over £500, which many people simply cannot afford.
To put this in context, The average monthly food budget in the UK is £194 per person.
Under the Government’s compensation scheme, owners of XL Bully dogs who elect to have their dogs euthanised are then entitled to claim £200 towards these costs.
Locally vets for pets in Ashfield have now confirmed they will euthanise healthy dogs - while this is a national issue, it’s happening here in Ashfield!
Many people in Ashfield strongly disagree with Healthy animals being put down unnecessarily through no fault of their own.
Could you outline your position on this? Also what stance and actions Ashfield District Council intend to take to support these dogs and their owners.”
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Jason Zadrozny, responded by thanking Ms. Denny for her question. He said that Ashfield is a community of animal lovers and that this legislation has been difficult for a lot of people as they do not like to see healthy, safe animals being put to sleep. He went on to explain that the Council has no role in enforcing the XL Bully dog ban that was introduced by the Government.
He explained that enforcement is a matter for the Police, for example, if they are walking a dog without a muzzle, as it is with other banned breeds like Pitbull Terriers. He explained that this Council’s role with animals is in relation to stray dogs and he has been working with officers to make sure that the Council is not putting itself in a position where it might be putting healthy animals in a position where they might be euthanised.
In terms of the financials, the Leader explained there is advice and financial support available to owners who want to keep their dogs; for example, there is a lot of support and information for owners from the RSPCA. He gave details of the Veterinary Care Fund which is a partnership of the Blue Cross, the RSPCA and Battersea which will help with up to £250 towards the cost of neutering and microchipping as well as the insurances for eligible, financially struggling owners. The Leader will be asking officers to signpost and work with owners for this support and to veterinary practices that will make the application on behalf of the owner. The Leader explained that this fund will also help with other costs relating to a pet’s health where the owner is struggling financially.
The Leader said he would be writing to all veterinary practices in the Ashfield District, expressing his opinion that they should not be putting healthy, safe dogs down and will be asking all Council’s Departments to work as sensitively as possible to help residents abide by the law whilst saving healthy safe dogs from being prematurely destroyed.
The Chairman then gave Ms. Denny the opportunity to ask a supplementary
question and she responded as follows:-
“With the Government bribing people with £200 to put down their pets and Nottinghamshire Police spending half a million pounds on policing XL Bully dogs despite only allocating a budget earlier this year of only eighty thousand; as Leader will you confirm that this Council will be compassionate to pet owners when dealing with other agencies and also when dealing with other agencies, encourage them to do the same?”
The Leader of the Council responded to the supplementary question by confirming that Ashfield District Council is not the Nottinghamshire Police Force and is not a tool for them to enact this law.The Council of course works with them as partners strategically, but officers will not be doing the Police’s job for them in this regard. He reiterated that the Council will be working with owners to try and make sure they can follow the law in a safe way, in a supported way, that saves dogs that do not need to be put to sleep.