A dog kennel owner has said the recent XL Bully legislation has driven him closer to retirement.
Steve Woodward is the kennels manager at Animal Lifeline Stoke on Trent in Cellarhead, Staffordshire.
The 65-year-old has been kennels manager for the last 16 years, but said the recent legislation has caused him to question his future there.
He added that the Government should not have "rushed" into putting together the legislation.
Steve Woodward has said he is stepping down from the shelter over the XL Bully legislation
Getty/Google Maps
Woodward told GB News: "We as good as had a memo to say we couldn't take any XL Bullies on last year so we haven't taken any on since then. We had to find homes for the ones we did have. I've had phone calls and I'm afraid I had to turn them away.
"I never want to turn a dog away. In the 15-16 years we've been here we tried to help as many as we can. But things are different now, we just can't do it. It's not even just XL Bullies either because you just do not know what you're getting with these dogs.
"But you look at dogs now and you think 'that's never an XL Bully'. You don't know which ones are going to be typed as XL Bullies. It's very hard because it goes on measurements, from the nose to the top of the head to the faces. It's really really tough.
"I'm retiring. It's got me down. I'm at retirement age, I've only got two months to go then I'm packing it in. That's part of the reason why though, because we can't help the dogs that we've always helped. I've had all sorts of dogs turn up here but there's now a stipulation that we can take on. Now we've got to go through all sorts of checks."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The legislation has proved controversial among dog owners
Getty
The charity has 12 full-time workers and hundreds of volunteers who help out at the kennels and also Animal Lifeline's two shops.
Woodward added: "I was always going. This was always my last year here, its just it has pushed it a bit further forward for me. I don't know where the rescue shelter will go, its doing ok but we've got less dogs here, we're rehoming more dogs. While I've been here, it has always been that we help anything that turns up. We never cherry pick.
"Unfortunately we're not like that anymore and a lot of it has been because of the XL Bully thing. I think it's the biggest part and parcel of it.
"We've had good times, we've had bad times but this XL Bully thing has broke us. It's broke me, anyway. It's just heart-breaking when you look at these dogs and think 'there's nothing we can do for you anymore. Its not your fault you were born.'
"I dealt with XL Bullies before the legislation came in. They're not the only ones that cause the trouble. It's not the dog but its the people who own them. Its definitely on the owner rather than the breed but any dog can turn out bad. They weren't born bad."
"I've got dogs down the kennels that have been really naughty but they've turned themselves around. At some point in life they must have been good dogs but its only because of what they've gone through
When asked if the government rushed into the legislation, he said: "Yeah, I do. I just feel that they earmarked these dogs for the persecution that they've got but that XL Bully could have been a Doberman, it could have been a Rottweiler. They've all got a potential to kill.
"The Government have got to look at why these dogs are ending up like this. Nine out of 10 of every incident that's happened its been human error, that they've bred the dogs and made them like that."
A Defra spokesperson told GB News: "We took quick and decisive action to ban XL Bullies in order to protect the public from tragic dog attacks, and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with the strict conditions that are now set out in law.
"More widely, we will continue to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to encourage responsible dog ownership of all breeds, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate.”