XL Bully compensation claims: EIR release

Information requested

I would like to know how many owners of XL Bully dogs who decided to have the pets euthanised following the introduction of the Scottish ban on the breed, have claimed compensation.

Can you provide a breakdown of the following:

• The number of individual claims
• The total cost of the claims
• How many have been paid to date

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.

To clarify, despite this action often being referred to as a ‘ban’ of XL Bully dogs, there is no such ban of XL Bully dogs in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Rather, new restrictions have been brought in through safeguards for XL Bully dogs that were introduced through a two-stage process in Scotland with the aim to protect public safety.

XL Bully owners who have taken the decision to have their dog euthanised were able to claim up to £200 from the Scottish Government:

• £100 to help cover the cost of euthanasia
• £100 for the loss of the dog

As at 12 August 2024, the Scottish Government had received 21 claims for £200 compensation to help cover the cost of euthanasia, and for the loss of the dog.

The Scottish Government had also received one claim for £100 compensation from an individual for the loss of their dog only, with no costs being sought for the euthanisation of their dog.

As at 12 August 2024, 15 claims, totalling £2900, had been approved by the Scottish Government for payment. Actual payments may not have been made in all cases as they are still being processed.

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.