Thanet woman spends £10,000 fencing off exercise field for XL bully dogs after legal crackdown

WATCH: A woman from Thanet has spent £10,000 fencing off a field where XL Bully owners can exercise their dogs for free.

A Kent dog groomer has launched a campaign for a radical rethink of the recent legal crackdown on XL bully type dogs.

Gail Robertson, from Thanet, says the new requirement to have them registered, neutered and muzzled in public is "cruel and illogical".

Gail has responded to the government's latest announcement by spending £10,000 fencing off a field where XL bully owners can exercise their dogs for free - unleashed and unmuzzled.

Gail said: "If I had the money and the space, I would put 10 fields in. People are willing to travel from hours and hours away just to give their dog that freedom.

"It needs to be private and it needs to be by appointment only, in order to remain private. I cannot charge for it, or it becomes a business and public again."

Those who have travelled to the field with their XL bully dogs have described the space as a "lifeline".

What are the new XL bully rules?

Last week, it became a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without a certificate of exemption.

To qualify for a certificate, owners needed to prove their XL bully would be neutered by June 30 if they were aged one or older on January 31, or by December 31, 2024 if dogs are younger than 12 months.

Applications for exemption certificates closed at midday on Wednesday.

As well as neutering their animals, XL bully owners wanting to certify their dog as exempt needed to pay an application fee, hold third party public liability insurance for their pets and ensure the dogs are microchipped.

It comes after the government introduced new measures in December dictating that XL bullies must be kept on a lead, be muzzled in public and be kept in secure enough accommodation that they cannot escape.

It will be considered a criminal offence if owners are not complying with the new rules.

Gail has also launched a petition to Parliament online calling for the repeal of last week's legal measures.

Instead, she wants the focus to be on the owner instead of the dog, with people required to apply for licences that could be refused for applicants assessed as unsuitable - including anyone with criminal convictions.

Gail's petition has already attracted more than 100 signatures. If the number hits 100,000, it could trigger a debate in the Commons on the issue.

Gail said: "We should be licensing people. If people had a dog license and then they wanted to have a bigger dog, they could then prove themselves by going on some courses and doing some training."