Overview
- Police recorded 29,400 offences of dogs out of control causing injury in 2025, up from 16,040 in 2020, according to figures obtained by the Daily Mirror.
- The rise continued after the UK banned the XL bully breed in February 2024, highlighting doubts about how well the ban has reduced overall harm.
- Earlier this month a three-month-old girl, Maggie-May Ann Moody, died after a dog attack in Dormanstown as armed officers shot one dog at the scene and another was later put down.
- Cleveland Police arrested two men aged 36 and 45 and a 31-year-old woman in the Dormanstown case, and all three were released on conditional bail.
- London logged the most cases in 2025 with 2,530 incidents and Greater Manchester recorded 1,678, while separate fatal attacks this month in Essex and Wolverhampton led to arrests and fueled calls for stronger action.