Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to reopen registrations for XL bully dogs for owners who missed the deadline.

Defra has no plans to reopen registrations for XL Bully dogs for owners who missed the deadline to apply for a Certificate of Exemption. Applications opened on 14 November 2023 and closed at midday on 31 January 2024. This date was set out in legislation and gave owners over two months to apply. It is now against the law to keep an XL Bully dog without a valid Certificate of Exemption, and new exemptions can only be authorised by a court order. If owners think they have an XL Bully dog and do not have a Certificate of Exemption, we advise that they should contact their local police force.