Woman mauled to death by her pet XL bullies
A woman has been mauled to death by her pet XL bully dogs in her home in east London.
The victim in her 50s, who has not been named, was attacked in the home on the County Park estate of Hornchurch.
Medics from London Ambulance Service tried to treat her but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Armed police seized the two dogs, which had been contained inside a room of the house before their arrival.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told the Havering Daily newspaper: “A woman in her 50s has died after an incident inside a house in Hornchurch.
“Police were called to Cornwall Close around 1.12pm on Monday May 20 to reports of a woman attacked by a dog.”
The force said that “officers were able to safely seize two dogs” which “were registered XL bully dogs”.
“They did not leave the house at any time during the incident,” the Met said.
“The family of the woman, who was the owner of the dogs, are being supported by officers.”
New restrictions
Restrictions on XL bully ownership came into force on Feb 1, and it is an offence to own one without an exemption certificate.
The Government introduced the changes after a series of attacks involving the breed.
Government officials say there have been 23 deaths caused by dog attacks since the start of 2021, with XL bullies “disproportionately involved”.
It is illegal to own an XL bully without a certificate and it is also an offence to sell, abandon, give away, breed or walk one without a lead and muzzle.
Since the ban, XL bully attacks have continued including in Holt, Norfolk, in April when a woman in her 20s was seriously injured after being savaged by the breed.
It is believed she had been trying to break up a fight between two dogs at the property when the animals turned on her before she barricaded herself in the bathroom.
And in March, a dog believed to be an XL bully was shot dead by police after savaging four men in Battersea, south London. They were treated in hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
In February, an eight-year-old boy on Merseyside was left with life-changing injuries when he was bitten on the head by a dog believed to be an XL bully.
The Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs believed there were 10,000 XL bullies in England and Wales, but the Government’s chief veterinary officer has since clarified there are about 55,000 registered under the new regime with a further 15,000 to 20,000 of the breed are thought to be unregistered and on the streets illegally.
