A 12-year-old girl has been left with “life changing injuries” after she was attacked by an XL bully near her home.
Ayva Batkin was bitten in the arm by the dog during the attack in Brynmawr, South Wales, on 7 October.
In a separate attack, a 10-year-old girl from the Malton area of North Yorkshire was killed by a dog, believed to be an XL bully, last Friday 1 November. The victim, Savannah Bentham, was attacked at her home and died at the scene.
On 1 February 2024 it became illegal to own an XL bully in England and Wales without a certificate of exemption.
The latest XL bully attacks
Ayva’s mother, who asked not to be named, told Wales Online that her daughter is recovering well from the attack after undergoing plastic surgery, in which skin was taken from her thigh to replace the damage done to her arm. She said the family had no prior contact with the dog or its owners before the incident.
Ayva, a martial arts student, was attacked by the dog after getting out of her father’s car at The Crescent, Nantyglo, Blaenau Gwent.
Her mother said: “First the dog bit her on the back which caused cuts and bruises. Then it latched on to her arm and ripped the bulk of the tricep area off. She had a plastic surgery operation to do a skin graft from her thigh as the flesh couldn’t be saved.”
After the attack, two people, a 37-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman, were arrested on suspicion of owning or possessing a dog bred for fighting and owning or possessing a dog dangerously out of control, and were released on police bail.
In the incident in North Yorkshire, Savannah died at home after being bitten by her family’s dog, police said. It is thought the dog involved, which is to be destroyed, was an XL bully.
In a statement, her family said: “We are utterly shocked and devastated by what happened to Savannah.
“We can’t believe we have lost our wonderful girl who we love so much. We thank everyone for their support and kindness as we struggle to come to terms with our loss.”
North Yorkshire Police were called to the scene by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service at about 4.15pm on Friday.
Despite the efforts of medical professionals and a member of the public who came to the family’s aid, Savannah died at the scene.
How many people have been killed in XL bully attacks since the ban?
Savannah’s death is the fifth involving an XL bully since the ban on the dog breed came into force at the beginning of February.
The first person to be killed after the ban was brought in was grandmother Esther Martin, 68, who was attacked by two XL bullies while visiting her 11-year-old grandson at a home in Jaywick, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, on 3 February.
On 20 May, Angeline Mahal, who was in her 50s, was killed by her two registered XL bullies at her home in Cornwall Close, Hornchurch, east London.
On 20 August, 53-year-old David Daintree was killed by an XL bully at his home in Accrington, Lancashire, and the following day, Nicholas Glass, 33, died after being attacked by four dogs – two of which were XL bullies – at a relative’s back garden on Hereford Close in Rednal, Birmingham.
How many XL bully attacks have there been since the ban?
In September, The Independent reported there had been 6,392 dog attacks recorded by police in England and Wales in the five months since the ban on XL bullies was introduced on 1 February.
It published the data following a freedom of information request from 27 police forces, but there was no breakdown of how many of the attacks involved XL bullies.
There were more than 9,200 hospital admissions for dog bites in England in 2022/23, according to the latest annual data from the NHS, up from 8,700 the previous year.
The campaign group Bully Watch said there were 167 attacks involving XL bullies in 2023 from a sample of reports from sites such as Nextdoor and Facebook.
Official statistics on dog attacks do not offer a breakdown on the number of attacks per type of dog.
The XL bully ban explained
In England and Wales, and in Scotland, it is now a criminal offence to own or possess an XL bully without a valid certificate of exemption (in Northern Ireland, it will be illegal to own an XL bully without an exemption certificate from 31 December).
It is also a criminal offence to sell, give away or abandon an XL bully; let it stray; breed or breed from an XL bully and have one in public without a lead and a muzzle.
Applications for a certificate of exemption to keep an XL bully have now closed, and may now only be authorised by a court order.
Those owners with a certificate must have third party liability insurance for their XL bully, keep it muzzled and on a lead in public and keep the dog securely so it cannot escape.
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