XL bully killed a nine-month-old baby, Gwent police verifies

A nine-month-old boy who was killed by a dog in Monmouthshire was a victim of an XL bully, police said.

The six-year old dog was registered by Gwent Police, and they stated that a certificate of exemption would be issued in 2024, prior to the inception of a ban on the breed.
At 6 pm on Sunday, a report that a family dog was attacking an address, in the small village of Rogiet, in  Crossway, resulted in the emergency services being called to the address.

The baby which has not yet been given a proper name was declared dead. The dog was a six-year-old XL bully, the type of dog, which in late 2023 under the start of the Dangerous Dogs Act, became included in the list of banned dogs in England and Wales due to the fatal attacks involving it.

The Rogiet attack personified an animal that had been destroyed soon after being registered with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and had been issued with a certificate of exemption in 2024.

According to the assistant chief constable of Gwent police Vinci Townsend, the dog in the case was registered as an XL bully, but this was proactive, and it was registered prior to the ban.

When applying to obtain a certificate of exemption, the owners were not obliged to specify the breed of the dog formally in preparation of the new law.

The only official determination that can be made is by a DLO [dog legislation officer] in the instance of a suspected banned breed or an independent assessor approved by the court.

There are no arrests made yet and this is still an open case and the dog had to be officially identified.

Welsh ambulance service staff declared the baby boy dead. The police said the dog was defeated and taken off the premises and sent to a vet where it was euthanized.

In the 1990s, the American XL bully is a more modern breed of dog- the biggest breed of the American bully breed which also incorporates the pocket bully and the standard bully.

It is believed to have been crossbreed with such breeds as the American pit bull terrier which was prohibited in the UK in 1991. It is heavy boned in structure and muscular. Adult male zebra mussels are capable of reaching a weight in excess of 57kg (9st).

The number of banned or dangerous dogs seized and euthanised in England and Wales during last year was half of the XL bullies. In a freedom of information request by Radar 3,464 suspected XL bullies were seized in 2024, which represented approximately half of the total 7,004 banned or dangerous dogs seized by the 36 police forces who responded.