This year, it became a criminal offence to own, breed or sell an American XL bully dog unless you have an exemption certificate.
American XL bullies have over the years been involved in a spate of deadly attacks – there have been 23 fatal attacks since 2021 and several high-profile public maulings.
An NHS consultant surgeon, Richard Baker, told BBC News they have “such powerful jaws” that “the wounds are worse compared to other breeds”.
This week a Sussex dog owner became the first person known to have been prosecuted for breaking the XL Bully ban.
And last month, a woman was charged after two children were hurt in a suspected XL bully attack in East Ayrshire.
But now, a newer breed is on the rise – the Exotic bully, also known as the even smaller Bully Nano, Micro or Pocket for the smaller sizes.
What is the Exotic bully dog?
Exotic bully dogs are bred to be extremely musculature and strong, but reducing the height by half and removing any aggression.
According to The Independent, the first ever Exotic was born in 2008 – known as Mr Miagi. Exotics are bred to be obedient and gentle with children, other dogs and small animals.
The BRC Global pedigrees, where pets can be registered to compete at competitions, says that aggression, viciousness or shyness are highly undesirable traits in dogs and very uncharacteristic for Exotics.
Exotics would in theory be safe from a ban – while an adult male XL Bully is defined as being at least 20in (51cm), Pocket bullies tend to be significantly smaller, normally reaching only 22 to 27cm in height.
However, Exotic competitions were shut down last year due to bad press from the spike in XL Bully attacks.
An RSPCA spokesperson said they hadn’t noticed more Exotic bully dogs coming into their care despite the boost in popularity. They added the pocket bully wasn’t a banned dog, so under the law, they didn’t need a muzzle.
They said: “Breed is not a reliable indicator of aggression in dogs. All dogs have the capacity to be aggressive. Aggression in dogs develops because of complex interactions between genetics and the experiences dogs have throughout their lives.”
