A meet up of XL bully dogs set to take place in Aberdeen has been called off after the First Minister announced the breed would be banned in Scotland.
The event was set to take place at the bandstand in Duthie Park on Saturday afternoon with around 20 XL bullies and their owners expected to attend.
The event, organised by Danielle McCallum and Taylor Stirling, had intended to “show how loving, kind and friendly” the breed is.
However, on Thursday after Humza Yousaf confirmed that Scotland would follow England and Wales in banning the breed, the event was cancelled.
The decision was then taken to cancel the event over fears that “mistakes” would spoil it.
On the event’s Facebook page, an organiser wrote: “Hey all, I think the best and safest thing to do just now would be to cancel this meet.
“This is due to Scotland bringing about the ban due to so many dogs from England and Wales coming up here.
“We can’t afford for anything to go wrong. If we have any silly people bringing dogs etc…
“We can’t have mistakes that will affect how special the day was supposed to be, or false allegations from the public! Best to stay away.
“Thank you so much for understanding, and keep your dogs safe. Do NOT give anyone a reason to say anything!”
Measures to prohibit the breed in England will be replicated in Scotland, Yousaf told the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.
In England and Wales, the animals will be prohibited without an exemption south of the border from the start of February.
That followed a ban on breeding, selling or abandonment of the dogs in England and Wales on December 31.
In the weeks following, an influx of XL bullys being rehomed in Scotland was reported.
Yousaf confirmed on Thursday that the Scottish Government will “in essence replicate” UK legislation banning the dogs without a licence.
He said the decision to replicate the Dangerous Dogs Act will be taken pending a parliamentary statement next week after the country saw an influx of dogs being abandoned north of the border.
The SNP leader said at First Minister’s Questions: “What has become clear, I’m afraid in the last few weeks, is we have seen a flow of XL bully dogs coming to Scotland, a number of people coming to Scotland to bring XL bully dogs here to the country.
“As such, we will give further details to members of the Scottish Parliament through a parliamentary statement if the Parliamentary Bureau agrees next week.
“We will, in essence, replicate the legislation that is in England and Wales here in Scotland because ultimately, although we do have a very good system of dog control notice schemes, and we do take the approach indeed not to breed, we have to respond to the situation as it currently stands and therefore we will do what we need to do to ensure public safety.”
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