An XL bully has been found dead with a head injury in south east London - just days before the dog breed is set to be fully outlawed.
The RSPCA said it is investigating after the body of a bloodstained young female was dumped inside a large metal crate on a patch of grass in Halcot Avenue, Bexleyheath on January 17.
The animal charity said the pet, which had not been microchipped, was taken to the location between 4.30pm and 6.15pm that day.
RSPCA inspector Kirsten Ormerod added officers were “deeply concerned the head injury was caused deliberately”.
The cause of the injury is not yet known, said Ms Ormerod, telling reporters: “It’s incredibly upsetting that her bloodstained body was dumped so carelessly in a residential area and it must have been a shocking discovery to make.”
Ms Ormerod said the XL bully, which was between six and nine months old, was discovered in the crate covered in faeces and urine with a beige sheet thrown over the top and pink twine tying it shut.
She added that it had a distinctive colour with unusual markings of grey merle patches on white fur.
Vicki Hudson, founder of Missing Paw UK who took the animal to be assessed by a vet in Thamesmead told the News Shopper: “What is also puzzling me is that they obviously wanted her to be found because they placed her right in the residential area where she would be discovered.
“Initially, when we came across her, she didn't seem to have any visible injuries. It was only when we turned her over that we realised she was covered in blood.”
On January 1, an XL bully dog was found dead with a fractured skull and burn marks in an alleyway on Waltham Road, south London.
In South Yorkshire, a walker discovered another female dog slumped below the A57 flyover near Sheffield at around 11am on January 22.
Owners of XL bullies have until February 1 to register their pets if they want to keep them.
The animals were added to the Dangerous Dogs Act on October 31, giving owners two months to prepare for the first stage of restrictions.
People with dangerously out of control dogs can be jailed for 14 years and banned from owning animals, and their pets can be put down.
The RSPCA has said that the number of abandonment calls it receives is at a three-year high.
