I bred the first ever XL Bully dog people say I created a monster – but that’s not the truth
THE man who bred the first ever XL American Bully has rejected claims he created a so called monster.
After a string of recent attacks, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has revealed American XL Bully Dogs will be banned in the UK.
Ian "Scouse" Langley, 54, was the latest suspected victim of the breed after he was attacked while trying to protect his puppy.
He was rushed to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries but sadly couldn't be saved and died.
Now the man who created the breed in the United States has told how he rejects claims that he in someway created a monster.
Dave Wilson, who established the breed during the 1990s, has said that his intention was to create a dog with a "docile temperament."
Speaking to The Times he said: "We wanted a dog that was like a
bodybuilder . . . a heavy-muscled, shorter dog.
"We also wanted to make sure that demeanour didn’t represent what the stereotype would be. So we started to create a dog with a very docile temperament. The ultimate companion breed.”
The American bully began to first emerge in 2004, after around ten years of breeding. Mr Wilson then formed the Bully Kennel Club where the dogs could compete. If dogs displayed any aggression, they were disqualified.
The dogs first appeared in the UK in around 2014, and appear to have flourished during lock down when many people bought the controversial breed.
Most read in The Sun
Mr Wilson is now opposed to the ban on the breed he created. He said: “The true nature of the breed really isn’t what is being portrayed."
He added that the UK “needs to stop pointing the fingers at dogs and start putting the fingers at the people that are actually doing wrong."
Campaign group Bully Watch UK was established to document attacks by the breed and expose illegal breeders with links to crime groups.
The group collates information from social media, and submits freedom of information requests to police and hospitals.
The accuracy of the groups statistics have been question by some, reports The Times.
Doug Smith, from the group, said that many breeders to sold to friends, family and neighbours.
He said: "I’ve spoken to reporters who have gone into communities
and half the street will own an American bully."
Mr Smith question whether a ban on the breed would work. He added: "Police are overwhelmed, and it’s expensive to seize and kennel dogs. The whole system is broken.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
