Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Animal Sentience Committee: XL Bullies and the Dangerous Dogs Act report

Why linked: Animal Sentience Committee: XL Bullies and the Dangerous Dogs Act report — the substantive November 2025 report on the regime's welfare implications under the 2022 Act.

The Animal Sentience Committee’s views on animals as sentient beings in relation to the Dangerous Dogs Act.

The ban on XL Bully dogs

Why linked: Commons Library Briefing CBP-9897 'The ban on XL Bully dogs' (March 2024) — principal Commons Library scrutiny baseline on the regime.

Type: Commons Briefing Paper (CBP-9897) A government ban on American XL Bully dogs in England and Wales came into force on 31 December 2023.

e-petition debate on breed-specific legislation

Why linked: Commons Debate Pack on breed-specific legislation (2022) - parliamentary scrutiny of dangerous dogs regulation

Type: Commons Debate Pack (CDP-2022-0100) A debate has been scheduled in Westminster Hall at 4.30pm on Monday 6 June 2022 on breed-specific legislation. The subject for the debate has been nominated by the Petitions Committee, and the debate will be …

E-petition debate: breed specific legislation

Why linked: Westminster Hall debate on breed-specific legislation (2021) - parliamentary scrutiny directly on dangerous dogs Act 1991

Type: Commons Debate Pack (CDP-2021-0111) A Westminster Hall debate on e-petition 300561, relating to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, has been scheduled for Monday 5 July 2021 at 6:15 pm. The petition calls for Government to replace breed specific legislation …

15th Special Report - Controlling dangerous dogs: Government Response to the Committee’s Ninth Report

Why linked: 15th Special Report — Government Response to controlling dangerous dogs (28 January 2019) — departmental policy response on breed-specific legislation

15th Special Report — Government Response to controlling dangerous dogs (28 January 2019) — departmental policy response on breed-specific legislation

9th Report - Controlling dangerous dogs

Why linked: Filled the "Parliamentary debates and committee inquiries on dog safety and breed classification" gap via web research

Dangerous Dogs

Why linked: House of Commons Library research briefing on Dangerous Dogs legislation — foundational overview of the 1991 Act and regime

Type: Standard Note (SN04348) An overview of dangerous dogs legislation.

Dangerous Dogs — Commons Library Research Briefing SN04348 (PDF, Aug 2016)

Why linked: The PDF version of the Commons Library briefing contains the full detailed policy history including prosecution statistics, legislative timeline, and Scotland/Wales comparisons not always visible in the HTML version.

The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was introduced following press reports of dog attacks, focusing mainly on American pit bull terriers. The part of the Act banning specific breeds has been criticised by some for failing to tackle dangerous dogs while …