XL Bully ban: Man wears muzzle to the pub 'in solidarity' with his daughter's dog - even drinking a pint

A dad has held a one-man protest over new XL bully laws by drinking a pint in his local pub - with a muzzle on.

On Sunday (31 December, 2023), the first stage of the government's XL bully ban came into force, with the breed to be fully banned unless their owner has an exemption certificate from 1 February. It requires all XL bully-type dogs to wear a muzzle and lead when out in public, and these dogs can no longer be sold, adopted out, given away or rehomed at all.

Eamonn Mcgeady, 51, and six-month-old dog Lexi wore matching protective guards on their visit to the Straw Hat. Once inside, he sat down at the bar, ordered a pint - and drank it through a straw. His daughter Elle, 19, said he did it to make a point about the new breed-based legislation - and left her feeling proud. She visited the pub along with her dad and dog on New Year's Day.

Elle and her boyfriend bought Lexi in August 2023 - just weeks before the new legislation was announced. Elle, an apprentice engineer from Chester, told SWNS: "I just don't agree with the muzzle. We’d be happy enough to walk her on a lead but we’re not happy with the muzzle - it’s just not nice to see."

She said her dog used to love visiting the pub, and socialising with dogs and humans alike. But that now Lexi was forced to wear a muzzle, Elle said she no longer wants attention, preferring to be left alone to lie down when visiting their local.

"She hides when going on a walk now because she knows she has to wear it," she said. “Before people would come up and give her a stroke and a pat but now we’re getting more evil looks off people instead."

Elle said her father - who did not want to be interviewed - wore the muzzle on their New Year's Day pub excursion to show people who thought XL bullies had a bad reputation that they were "not actually that bad", and that the rules were unfair. “We got to the pub and everyone was laughing about it - I was proud [of him] and happy to see him wearing it.

"Dad was drinking pints using a straw through the muzzle and getting on the floor with Lexi to play around with her," she said. “He wanted to show her there was a person was wearing it and it wasn’t just for her. The people we walked past were praising him for it, saying it showed he’s good owner.”

MPs first took aim at American XL bullies, a fairly new breed derived, in part, from pit bulls, in late September, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later announcing the breed would be banned after two serious attacks - one of which saw a man killed. The government says XL bullies have been added to the Dangerous Dogs Act to safeguard the public following an increase in attacks in recent years. Up until 2021 there were around three fatalities per year, but here have been 23 since the start of 2021 – with the XL Bully being disproportionately involved in this rise.

While she agreed that some restrictions were needed, Elle believed it was unfair to have to muzzle her family pet. “We completely disagree with the rules, we agree that something needed to happen because of the amount of attacks that were happening, some action should have been taken.

“We've only had Lexi for about four months, and we want her life to be as playful and joyful as we can make it," she said. "It’s sad to see that she’s so young and for rest of her life she won’t experience being off lead again.”

Owners of XL bully-type dogs only have until 31 January to apply for an exemption for their pet. On 1 February, it becomes a criminal offence to own an XL bully at all without one. For an exemption to be granted, owners need to have third party insurance in case their dog injures someone, and the dog will need to be microchipped - and spayed or neutered as soon as possible.