Decision delayed over licence for Scotland’s first XL Bully sanctuary in Angus

An Angus council decision on whether Scotland’s first XL Bully sanctuary should be given a licence to operate has been delayed.

Plans to host up 31 bulldog-breed dogs at the Happas Canine Centre near Forfar first emerged last year.

It was the idea of Kerryanne Shaw, who moved to Angus from Glasgow after raising more than £20,000 for the project.

Ms Shaw is the chairperson of charity All Bullie Charity Rescue.

Councillors on Angus Council’s civic licencing committee had been due to make a decision on the application when they met on Thursday.

However, this was deferred after Ms Shaw’s lawyer was unable to attend.

Committee members had been asked to refuse the licence after a damning inspection report revealed there were signs of stressed-out dogs at the centre “eating kennel walls”.

The local authority’s animal welfare inspector, Coreen Hill, also warned that she does not believe Ms Shaw can “safely manage” up to 25 dogs at the facility.

The report did, however, note the condition of the dogs from a health perspective was good and the kennels were in a clean condition.

Speaking at Thursday’s meeting, Ms Shaw labelled the report as “misleading” and said the centre was in a state of “disrepair” when she took over.

She added: “There has been an awful lot of back-breaking work and charity funds (used) at a great cost to us that has gone into getting the premises to a much higher standard.”

Ms Shaw asked to have the decision deferred so that her lawyer could be present. They were unable to attend due to prior commitments.

Councillors unanimously agreed to defer the bid until next month.