Shocking video reveals how cops trap raging XL Bully beasts with lasso sticks & RIOT SHIELDS as dog attacks spiral
A SHOCKING video has revealed how cops trap raging XL Bully beasts with lasso sticks and riot shields as dog attacks spiral.
Footage shows the tactics police are adopting after a surge in injuries caused by the XL Bully dog breed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to ban.
Video was released by West Midlands Police, who say their team of dangerous dog-handlers have been called to more than 800 incidents in just four months this year.
The force seized almost 100 dangerous dogs between April and July.
Recent attacks include one on brave schoolgirl Ana Paun, 11, in Birmingham in the West Midlands.
She later told of thinking she would die when savaged by an out-of-control XL Bully last month.
The newly-released footage shows a 60kg XL Bully barking before being sedated by a dart – as an officer is heard saying, “Good shot”.
Cops are approaching aggressive canines wielding lasso sticks and wearing by riot shields to protect themselves from potential harm.
Film showed another incident where cops escorted an large and angry dog from a home, using poles to move it safely.
One officer tells the dog: “It’s all right, Charlie.”
West Midlands Police said they published the footage to highlight their handlers’ work trying to keep the public safe, the Mail reported.
Mr Sunak promised to ban the XL bully breed by this year’s end.
He shared a social media video saying ministers would “ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year”.
Professor Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s chief vet, later said owners of XL bully dogs would not face a cull of their pets.
Last month a man told The Sun he too feared he was about to die when a dog dragged him into onrushing traffic in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
That was a week after a man died following an attack by two dogs – suspected to be American bully XLs – in Staffordshire.
Another man died a week earlier following an attack by two dogs – suspected to be American bully XLs – in Staffordshire.
Three kids were attacked just weeks apart by an out-of-control XL Bully called Zeus in Forfar, Scotland – before its owners flogged the pet to a new home.
The Sun reported on how bully-type dogs were being advertised for sale online in Britain, letting anyone buy them without checks.
Campaigners say there should be a bar on XL bully dogs entering the UK or being bred here.
Yet animal charities have opposed whole-breed bans, insisting it could mean more dogs are unfairly put down.