Kennelling banned dogs cost force £167k in a year

A police force spent more than £167,000 kennelling banned breeds of dogs over a year, they said.

Dorset Police and said it had not received any extra funding to keep the dogs after tighter legislation was introduced in February 2024.

It said it had spent a total of £167,445 between February 2024 and February 2025 on kennelling for the dogs.

The force has employed no extra dog handlers to deal with any extra workload, it added in a response to a freedom of information request.

Since 1 February 2024, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully without an exemption certificate.

The government received 61,000 exemption applications before the deadline.

Owners who applied for an exemption had to buy insurance, microchip their dog and pay £92.40 per animal.

Registered dogs must be housed securely, neutered and kept on a lead and muzzled in public, but not at home.

Police can seize unregistered prohibited dogs, and their owners face up to six months in jail and/or an unlimited fine.

While the two forces paid out a total of £33,207 in February, they paid out nothing extra in April 2024.

They said that was caused by bills being received "at irregular periods".

Dorset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police entered into a formal strategic alliance in March 2015 in an effort to improve delivery, financial resilience and save money.

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