Ireland

Baby girl in hospital in Cork following XL bully attack

Child undergoing treatment for ‘serious injuries’ and Garda investigating incident

Ireland is to ban XL bully dogs
Baby hospitalised with serious injuries following XL Bully dog attack (Jacob King/PA)

A baby girl from has been taken to Cork University Hospital following an attack by a restricted breed dog.

It is believed the infant, understood to be one-year-old, was attached by an XL bully, near Lixnaw in north Kerry on Saturday evening and required hospital treatment for serious injuries.

The dog was brought to a local veterinary practice and has since been destroyed.

A Gardaí investigation into the circumstances is under way.

In July, the Irish Government announced its plan to ban XL bully dogs from October 2024.



The two-phase ban will begin on 1 October when breeding, re-homing, re-selling and importing of XL bullys will be outlawed.

A full ban on owning one of the dogs, without a certificate of exemption, will come into effect on February 1, 2025.

This will bring Ireland into line with Britain and the north.

The ban was prompted by a spate of dog attacks this year, including one which led to the death of Nicole Morey in Limerick, who was killed by her dogs at her home in Fedamore, Co Limerick, in early june.

A young boy, Alejandro Mizsan, was left with serious injuries following an attack by an XL bully in November 2022 while playing near his home in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.