XL Bully: Jack Lis' mum welcomes Rishi Sunak's pledge to ban dog breed by end of year

Emma Whitfield said she was sat on her own "sobbing" at the Prime Minister's pledge to ban XL Bully dogs by the end of the year. Credit: Family picture

The mother of a boy who was mauled to death by a dog has welcomed the Prime Minister's pledge to ban the American XL bully breed.

Reacting to the news, Emma Whitfield posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying she was sat on her own "sobbing" at the news.

Her son Jack was 10-years-old when an XL Bully, called 'Beast', attacked and killed him at a friend's house in Caerphilly in 2021.

Jack's mum has campaigned for a ban and tougher sentences since his death. Credit: Family picture
XL bully owners 'won't have pets culled' when ban comes into force

In an update on Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said dogs are to be banned after a recent spike in "horror" attacks.

The ban is to come in by the end of the year, Mr Sunak confirmed, saying that he shared "the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen".

It comes in the wake of another attack yesterday which saw a man die, but Downing Street says the work to outlaw the dogs started before the incident.

"It is clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, it’s a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on," Mr Sunak said on Friday.

"While owners already have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control, I want to reassure people that we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and protect the public."

Earlier this week, Ms Whitfield hit out at the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, saying: "Where were you when my son was killed? Where were you when other innocent people were killed?"

She also wants tougher prison sentences for owners whose dogs attack people.

Jack was 10 years-old when an XL Bully, called 'Beast', attacked and killed him.

Speaking to ITV News, Emma said: "I don't see why it can still happen and nothing is being done.

"If Jack was attacked by a Jack Russell or a small dog, I can guarantee you he'd be next to me. These XL bullies have got the power to kill, a lot of dogs don't have that."

When she watched recent videos of attacks, she said: "You see the fear in them and you put that into the fear that Jack felt.

"That can't keep happening, it really can't, we've got to stop it.

"And if it means banning the breed for now and then looking at proper legislation around tackling the bigger picture, then so be it."

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