Man viciously attacked by 'XL bully' in back garden is fighting for life as police kill dog with Taser
A man is fighting for his life after being attacked by a dog believed to be an XL Bully in the back garden of a home.
Armed police and a specialist dog unit were called to scene on Ripon Drive, West Bromwich, at around 4.40pm yesterday following reports of a dog attack.
An injured man was treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital, police have said.
The dog was Tasered by officers and died at the scene, the force added.
Police have placed a cordon around the West Midlands property and first aid paraphernalia can be seen scattered across the garden.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: 'We're continuing to investigate after a man was seriously injured when he was attacked by a dog in West Bromwich.
'We were called to Ripon Drive at around 4.40pm yesterday (14 March). A man in his 20s was found with serious injuries and remains in a critical condition in hospital.
'The dog was Tasered by officers and died at the scene. Following an initial assessment the dog is believed to have been an XL Bully.
Armed police and a specialist dog unit were called to scene on Ripon Drive, West Bromwich, at around 4.40pm yesterday
Police have placed a cordon around the West Midlands property and first aid paraphernalia was spotted scattered across the garden
'We continue to have a police presence in the area as we seek to establish exactly what happened.
It comes after last month a 19-year-old girl died after she was attacked by what was believed to be an XL Bully-type dog in the Hartcliffe area of south Bristol.
Two days earlier, armed police had to fire 19 shots to kill two XL Bully dogs after an 84-year-old man was left fighting for his life when he was dragged into a garden and viciously attacked in Warrington
A crackdown on restricting the breeding and sale of XL Bullies was brought in on December 31, 2023, following a spate of horrific attacks on the public.
The ban, which came fully into affect in February last year, made it a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully Dog in England and Wales without a valid Certificate of Exemption.
It is also an offence to sell or abandon an XL Bully Dog, or to let it stray. And it is illegal to have an XL Bully in public without a lead and muzzle.
Owners whose dogs are dangerously out of control are considered to be breaking the law, and penalties including prison time, disqualification from ownership or euthanasia of the dog can be enforced.
Dog attacks have risen by a fifth in one year, with police recording more than 80 incidents a day.
Police forces recorded 30,539 offences of a dog injuring a person or a guide dog last year - up from 25,291 in 2022.
In 2023, there were more than 6,000 recorded incidents of dog bites requiring hospital treatment.
