A girl seriously injured a few days ago, then the death of a man… A series of dog attacks attributed to a recent crossing sparks emotion in the United Kingdom and pushes the government to act on Friday.

In a country where dogs are adored, concern has been growing for months about the increase in attacks, sometimes serious, often involving children. Since January, seven deaths have been recorded, much more than the average for recent years. Attention is especially focused on the American Bully XL, the most important category of this breed recently created by crossing several mastiffs, since an 11-year-old girl, Ana Paun, was chased and injured in the arm and shoulder in Birmingham , in the center of England.

uncontrollable dogs

On Thursday, two uncontrollable dogs pounced on a man near a school in the town of Stonnall, central England, as classes ended. Despite treatment at the scene and in the ambulance, “it became clear once at hospital that nothing could be done to save him and he was pronounced dead,” West Midlands Ambulance Services said on Friday.

According to police, the two dogs attacked the victim near their owner’s apartment. Obviously it is the American Bully XL, although analyzes are being carried out to confirm it. The dogs’ owner, 30, was arrested and taken into custody for possession of uncontrollable dogs and involuntary manslaughter. The animals were sacrificed.

Among the cases reported in recent months, a 50-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday to failing to control his dog that had killed his brother in April. In early May, video of London police officers shooting two aggressive dogs with a Taser went viral. Many Internet users were outraged by the excessive measure while their master, a homeless man, kept them tied up.

Government ban

Given the growing emotion aroused by these events, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ordered on Friday that this breed be banned before the end of the year. The case, however, has sparked debate, with some veterinarians believing that training is to blame rather than the breed itself.

If recent events are “deeply painful”, “banning the breed will not prevent these types of incidents from happening again”, said the Kennel Club, the largest British organization dedicated to the health and training of dogs, and the Dog Control Coalition. “This is clearly not a bunch of poorly trained dogs, it is a trend in their behavior and this cannot continue,” Sunak said.