XL bully dog exemption scheme: EIR release

Information requested

I request information on the recent XL bully dog Exemption scheme.

Can you confirm how much money was raised through this scheme and how many dogs in total were exempted?

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response to your request

As at 8 August 2024, the Scottish Government had issued 3,368 certificates of exemption to owners of XL Bully dogs in Scotland. As each relevant dog requires a certificate, this means 3,368 dogs are subject to exemption.

Applying for a certificate of exemption cost a fee of £92.40. As such, £311,203.20 has been received by the Scottish Government.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.