Update to the UK Dangerous Dogs legislation

As you will be aware, the update to the UK Dangerous Dogs legislation came in to effect at midnight on the 31s December 2023.

There have been a lot of questions and scaremongering regarding this new legislation so we wanted to try and address some of the questions from our perspective at Aisha Boerboels for our owners and prospective owners.

This update to the UK Dangerous Dogs legislation has been made to now include a further ‘type’, the XL Bully type. Obviously this has caused some concern as to how dog will be typed.

The UK government has released guidance for XL Bully owners:
XL Bully type dogs to be banned

Prepare for the ban on XL Bully dogs

Check if a dog is an XL Bully

From these guidelines, it is clear that the objective and target is XL Bully types. It is not understood to target other breeds.

As ethical breeders of the South African Boerboel, we would remind our owners and prospective owners that under the existing legislation, Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (as amended 1997), it has always been a criminal offence to own a dog that is dangerously out of control, regardless of breed.

The new amendment to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (as amended 1997) adds a further type to the existing legislation. This new ‘type’ is not dissimilar to that the of the existing ‘Pitbull type’.

It is our opinion that clearly a South African Boerboel bears no resemblance to either a XL Bully type or Pitbull type.

Therefore, we would urge our owners to be calm but prepared.

As an ethical breeder, we have always conducted a vetting process for prospective owners and we continually review this process. The vetting process is to ensure that our owners are suitable to own a large and powerful breed such as the South African Boerboel.

Responsible ownership has always been required to own an Aisha Boerboel and should be a priority for any breeder.

Aisha Boerboels will continue to promote responsible ownership and breeding and offer the following advice to owners:

• Always ensure that your dog is under control
• DO NOT allow your dog to become a nuisance or cause of fear to others
• DO NOT set your dog up for failure by placing them in bad situations
• If your dog has reactivity issues, address these issues with a suitable trainer
• Be aware where you exercise your dog and do not allow your dog off lead in public spaces as you cannot control public spaces
• DO NOT assume that other dog owners are responsible

Responsible ownership will avoid and prevent many avoidable problems from ever occurring. It is your responsibility as an owner of a large and powerful dog to always be in full control of your dog, its environment and the situations to put your dog into.

Dont fail your dog.

Aisha Boerboels Quality without compromise!

Please contact us for further information