Stafford's American bully XL owners say ban would be easy way out

A group of American bully XL owners have said they held a meet-up to show "how wonderful this breed actually is".

The prime minister has said the dogs will be banned following a number of incidents including one in Staffordshire in which a man died.

The group of owners who gathered in Wildwood Park near Stafford said they were concerned about the proposed ban.

Owner Keelan Hill said the recent attacks were "terrible", but a ban was "just an easy way out".

Ian Price died on 14 September after he was attacked by two suspected American bully XLs in Stonnall.

That attack came five days after an 11-year-old was also mauled in Birmingham.

The American bully XL is the largest variation of the American bully breed, a type of bulldog developed by breeding several dogs including the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Bulldog and English Bulldog.

Four dog breeds are currently banned in the UK - the pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brasileiro.

Mr Hill, who attended the meet-up in the park, said those attacks were "terrible".

"No-one can deny that they are terrible, but it's [about] looking into who's owning them, who's breeding them and stuff like that," he said.

He said it was "just an easy way out to say... 'ban them all'".

Fellow owner and veterinary nurse Helena Kemble said she attended because she "just wanted to show... that these dogs are not aggressive".

"They can be trained to be aggressive, but they are the bad owners [doing that], not these dogs," she said.

"These dogs are showing how wonderful this breed actually is."

Staffordshire Police said officers had been in the park while the meet-up took place earlier.

Sgt Luke Davies said due to Mr Price's death, there was "obviously... a bit of concern with local residents".

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