Plans for an XL Bully sanctuary accused of having dangerous conditions have been refused over ‘grave’ concerns – but the charity has sworn to ‘prove them wrong’.
Last year, MailOnline revealed that Happas Canine Centre, near Dundee in Scotland, was being turned into a rescue centre for the banned breed to save the dogs from being put down following a spate of attacks across the UK.
Kerryanne Shaw, from Glasgow, owns the All Bullie Charity Rescue and received thousands in donations to renovate the kennel. The 38-year-old originally refused to disclose the location due to receiving ‘death threats’.
Ms Shaw relocated to Happas around seven months ago, using public money to bring the facility up to scratch. But councillors said they ‘can’t in good conscience’ grant a licence for the rescue centre.
A big concern was that Ms Shaw is looking after 23 dogs by herself, and while not all are XL Bullies, it is still an ‘awful lot of dogs for one person’.
An inspection into the rescue centre shown to the councillors noted there was ‘a lot of old metal items and rolls of material and rubbish’ in the dogs’ outdoor enclosure and a ‘very strong urine smell’.
The enclosure was deemed ‘structurally insecure’ and the inspection office said it ‘would not contain the dogs’ and they could escape.
One dog had wrenched off a metal kennel door, where ‘sharp wire’ was visible.
The report also said a wooden beam supporting the roof of the outside run area to one kennel was ‘rotten and broken’.
Commenting on photos of the kennels, concerned locals said: ‘Shame there’s no natural light for them ‘ while another added ‘make it look less like a prison for dogs’.
The licensing meeting heard that Ms Shaw has been a trustee of the charity since 2020, and was involved in animal welfare work before that.
Referring to some of the concerns raised in the report about a lack of organisation and monitoring, her lawyer Jacob Cohen said she has ADHD and this makes the administration side of the centre difficult.
He said Ms Shaw has made improvements, like putting radios in the kennel area and giving the dogs heat lamps. Concerned locals online asked if that meant the dogs had no heaters throughout the winter.
There are currently 23 dogs at the centre – not all are XL Bullies – and at maximum capacity it can fit 31.
The charity also has 12 dogs in English kennels and 11 which are being fostered, none of which are XL Bullies.
The inspection report into the site read: ‘Some of the dogs have serious kennel guarding issues.
‘The noise in the kennel blocks during the inspection was loud and no signs of ear defenders being made available to visitors.
‘Emergency protocol is to remove all dogs if safe to do so but no procedure in place for dogs that have been highlighted as high risk to some handlers.
‘[In the] small outdoor exercise area [there is a] strong smell of urine and recycled litter, and small sharp roofing plastic [was] found in the area at time of visit.
‘Toys visible in small exercise area, but plastic lids and roof plastic was visible on inspection in small exercise area.
‘Urine smell very strong in small exercise area. Large exercise area still not completed to be safe to have dogs off lead and fencing inside with nails removed and piled up for burning in enclosure.
‘A lot of old metal items and rolls of material and rubbish still present at time of inspection in large outdoor enclosure.
‘There was an incident on site during the visit where a dog had no water and once highlighted water was supplied, the dog was very keen to relinquish their thirst.’
Unanimously rejecting the application, one member said: ‘It really concerns me that there will be one person looking after so many dogs.’
Another said: ‘I’m not content to write a blank cheque on this, especially while our Environmental Health team are still strongly objecting. If after all this time the conditions have not been met, I certainly do not think they are likely to be met soon.’
A third said: ‘Ultimately, our primary concern is the animals welfare. I can’t in good conscience grant that licence.
Committee chairman George Meechan said he had ‘grave concerns’ and added: ‘The picture isn’t particularly good.’
The council said it will monitor the kennels and work with the charity as required.
Ms Shaw previously branded the critical inspection reports ‘shockingly misleading’ and said she would appeal any licence refusal.
The centre has been operating entirely unlicensed since December, when the property owner’s animal boarding permit expired.
After racking up £20,000 in donations, Ms Shaw wanted to set up a ‘safe haven’ in Dundee for the XL Bully breed.
Her charity – established in 2016 – takes in ‘all kinds of bull breeds’ including Staffies, bulldogs, XL Bullies, American bulldogs and occasionally other large dogs.
The ban on XL Bully type dogs was announced following a spate of fatal and serious attacks in the UK. It was first only introduced in England and Wales, but Scotland soon followed suit.
The intention to make it illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange or abandon the dogs was first announced by Rishi Sunak on September 15 in 2023, with the legislative statutory instruments laid in the Commons on October 31.
However, it was not until January 11 that Humza Yousaf announced plans for a similar ban in Scotland.
He claimed the action was needed because there had been ‘a flow of XL bully dogs to Scotland’ and criticised the UK Government for announcing its plans ‘without any consultation with the Scottish Government’.
One of several GoFundMe pages set up to fund the renovation of Happas raised thousands of pounds to fix up the kennels in preparation to house the XL Bully dogs – but according to the owner Jeremy Barron’s social media comments, the site just needed a ‘lick of paint’.
When approached by MailOnline, he said ‘there will always be disgruntled customers’ and the ‘allegations by internet trolls are unfounded’.
At least five GoFundMe pages were set up for the rescue centre, racking in donations totalling £28,351, and Facebook donation pages brought in at nearly £2,000 since December, meaning kind-hearted animal lovers donated over £30,000 for the XL Bully sanctuary.
According to the All Bullies Charity Rescue financial history, it had an income of £142.54K in 2023, and expenditure of £138.91K.
According to the charity Facebook page, they spent £10,000 on flooring, £700 on paint and equipment, £400 on ‘sound systems’ and put down a £3000 deposit for the fencing.
There is also an Amazon ‘wishlist’ for the dogs and several raffle and gift competitions, including for a ‘dermawand’ and beauty bags.
In addition there is an All Bullies Rescue shop, which sells XL Bully t-shirts, pens and key rings.
Many people also set up weekly or monthly payment plans to the charity.
Ms Shaw said on the charity page: ‘As I’m sure many of you will have heard the news that the license was refused for the premises at Happas. As there is a lot of discussion misinformation and scaremongering going on I felt I should address it to our supporters.
‘I have had a couple of days to digest everything and while I am extremely disappointed and frustrated we have not given up hope. There is an appeal process that will be started as soon as we receive our notice of rejection.
‘Our solicitor is currently reviewing everything to determine what the next.. best steps are and we remain hopeful that we can turn this massive blow around. So much work funds and dedication has gone into this venture not just by myself but the entire team.
‘Your support has helped us to make vast improvements to the premises and we will continue working on improvements while we fight the council’s decision.
‘The dogs are well cared for healthy and in a clean environment that has never been an issue for the council.
‘At no point and under no circumstances will any of the dogs be seized or destroyed.
‘We thank you all for your support up until now and hope that you will continue to support us so we can prove them all wrong.’
Previously, photos of the site seen by MailOnline showed dogs believed to be Mr Barron’s golden retrievers – of which he is a breeder – crammed into small crates indoors or kept in sparse outdoor cages.
Other photos showed dirty bowls empty of food and water and floors covered in dog hair, dog waste and shredded paper.
The kennels where the dogs are kept are shown in videos shared to Ms Shaw’s Facebook of dogs from her rescue charity housed at the site, kept in sparse pens with concrete flooring.
Dog owners who have housed their dogs there in the past also shared photos with MailOnline showing the condition of their pets when they were reunited.
One photo showed an injured dog with bleeding legs after she stayed at the site.
Mr Barron told MailOnline previously: ‘Allegations by internet trolls are unfounded.
‘There will always be disgruntled customers, especially when I have over 1500 bookings a year. I get very little complaints compared to the volume of dogs I have.’
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