From Thursday ( February 1) in England and Wales, owning an unregistered XL Bully is a criminal offense as the government attempts to phase out the powerful breed blamed for fatal attacks on humans and animals.

Owner Terry Wigzell told Reuters the ban unfairly targets the breed - and the real problem is irresponsible owners.

"When I put his muzzle on and I take him for his walks, he sort of looks at me as if to say...I think he might think I'm punishing him, like I'm doing it to him."

More than 30,000 XL Bullies have been registered an exemption. They must be muzzled in public and sterilized to prevent breeding

Owners caught without an exemption face unlimited fines and up to six months in prison.

Sam Wilkinson is voluntarily helping re-home dogs as some owners panic.

"There have been a lot of dogs dumped, and I mean a lot of dogs. Dogs where owners have just let their dogs out of the door, tied to lamp posts, tied to trees. Even worse than that in some cases, some have had to be fished out of canals and everything, so it's been awful."

The crackdown was ordered by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after a string of high-profile maulings and a public outcry.

The Campaign for Evidence Based Regulation of Dangerous Dogs said its research showed the number of fatalities from all dog attacks in England and Wales had risen from around three per year prior to 2021 to around 10 per year in 2022 and 2023.

The number of fatal dog attacks is not recorded by breed at Britain's Office for National Statistics.

It showed 16 deaths caused by "being bitten or struck by a dog" in 2023.

From police statements, Reuters was able to confirm at least one of those fatal attacks was by a suspected XL Bully type breed.

However other victims of reported attacks wouldn't speak to Reuters publicly.

Sonia Faleiro's Jack Russell died after three XL Bullies attacked her and her husband and daughter in a London park.

She says the new laws will be pointless if the police don't enforce them.

"Then nobody wins, and certainly victims of dog attacks will be left even more traumatized than before because they will feel that the law is meaningless, and the lives of their dogs are meaningless."

Britain's largest animal welfare charity, RSPCA, said urgent action was needed to protect the public but it opposes breed-specific legislation.