The Canine Ledger

Breed Bans: What the Laws Say, and Whether They Reduce Bites

Great Britain bans five dog types and Ontario bans pit bulls. What the laws require, and what studies from Denmark, Manitoba and a 2022 review found.

Written by thecanineledger

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“Available evidence suggests greater restrictions should be made for all dogs, rather than based on breed alone.” That’s the conclusion of a 2022 systematic review of 43 studies on preventing dog bites, published in Injury Prevention (Duncan-Sutherland et al., 2022).

While a breed ban can look like the most direct answer to dangerous dogs, the evidence that they cut bites is weak and mixed. This page sets out what the laws say in Great Britain and Ontario, then what the studies found. It isn’t legal advice. If you think your dog may be covered by a ban, get advice from a lawyer where you live.

1. Great Britain

Five types are banned. GOV.UK lists the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully (GOV.UK, Controlling your dog in public). It’s against the law to sell, give away, abandon or breed from a banned dog.

It’s about looks, not paperwork. “Whether your dog is a banned type depends on what it looks like, rather than its breed or name.” And the burden falls on the owner: “It’s your responsibility to prove your dog is not a banned type.”

Police can act without a complaint. GOV.UK says the police or a council dog warden can take a banned dog away even if it isn’t acting dangerously and nobody has complained.

A new rule started on 1 November 2026. “From 1 November 2026, you must not leave a child under 12 in close contact with a banned dog in a private place (for example a home or garden), without adult supervision.”

2. XL Bully dogs in England and Wales

The rules for XL Bully dogs differ across the UK. GOV.UK’s guidance for England and Wales, updated 1 October 2026, says: “It’s a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless you have a valid Certificate of Exemption” (GOV.UK, Ban on XL Bully dogs).

You can’t apply for one now. “Applications for a Certificate of Exemption to keep an XL Bully dog have closed. New exemptions can only be authorised by a court order.”

Owners with an exemption must, for the dog’s life:

  • keep it muzzled and on a lead in public, with the lead held by someone “at least 16 years old”
  • keep it at the certificate holder’s address, with limited exceptions
  • keep it in secure conditions so it can’t escape

The dog must also have been neutered, by deadlines that have now passed. If owners don’t follow the rules, the dog loses its exemption and “could be taken by the police.”

Our note: Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate XL Bully rules, which we haven’t read.

3. Ontario

Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act bans pit bulls. Section 6 says that, except as the Act allows, “no person shall” own, breed, transfer, abandon or import a pit bull, or let one stray (Dog Owners’ Liability Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. D.16).

The Act’s definition of “pit bull” includes four named breeds and “a dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar” to them. As in Britain, the owner carries the burden: “the onus of proving that the dog is not a pit bull lies on the owner of the dog.”

The Act allows some pit bulls, which it calls “restricted pit bulls”, to be kept under controls.

Our note: We read the consolidated Act (current to 30 October 2026) but not its regulations. Ontario municipalities may add their own rules.

4. Do breed bans reduce bites?

Three studies, and none settles it:

StudyWhat it found
2022 systematic review, 43 studiesGeneral dog-control laws, such as leash laws and stray control, “can reduce dog bite rates.” “Breed-specific legislation had less of an effect.”
Odense, Denmark, 2018“no effect of the legislation can be seen on the total number of dog bites” (Nilson et al., 2018).
Manitoba, Canada, 2013“BSL may have resulted in a reduction of DBIH in Winnipeg, and appeared more effective in protecting those aged <20 years.” DBIH means dog-bite injury hospitalisations (Raghavan et al., 2013).

Each has limits. The Danish authors note “a low statistical power to detect small effects” and a short follow-up. The Manitoba authors warn that their design “cannot definitely establish a link”. When they compared each area only with its own past, they found “no significant reduction in the period after BSL implementation”.

Our reading: the best evidence points to rules that apply to every dog. Breed bans may help in some places, but the studies don’t show it reliably.

Our note: We cite the 2022 review from its abstract, because the full text is paywalled.

5. If you’re travelling or moving

A breed ban follows the dog. GOV.UK says you can’t bring a banned breed into Great Britain unless it already has a valid exemption certificate, and Ontario’s Act bans importing pit bulls. → Bringing a Dog Into Great Britain

Our note: Breed rules in the US, other Canadian provinces and the EU vary down to city level. We haven’t researched them.

6. What we could not verify

Commonly saidWhat we found
“Breed bans have been proven to work”No. The evidence is mixed, and a 2022 review favoured rules for all dogs.
“Breed bans have been proven useless”Not quite. One Manitoba study found a possible reduction in Winnipeg.
“A DNA test proves my dog isn’t banned”The British test is appearance, GOV.UK says, not breed or name.
“You can still apply for an XL Bully exemption”No. Applications have closed in England and Wales.

Sources

Always confirm with your vet before acting on anything on this page.