The mother of a boy who had to be identified by his shoe after being bitten to death by an XL bully will today make a heartfelt plea to MPs calling for tougher penalties for owners of dangerous dogs.
Jack Lis, 10, died last November after suffering catastrophic injuries after being mauled by a seven-stone dog while playing at a friend’s home in South Wales.
His mother Emma Whitfield has since launched a campaign for a new law that would overhaul the Dangerous Dogs Act. She wants to see stricter and stronger punishments regulations to end illegal and irresponsible breeding and selling.
Ms Whitfield, 32, will today urge MPs to support the proposed Jack Lis Bill, which is named after her son. She said The mirror she hopes the legislation will “change the future” and “prevent another Jack from happening.”
Her plea comes as Scotland Yard works daily to address the growing problem of out-of-control dogs, which has preoccupied a huge number of American bullies in recent years.
Jack Lis, 10, (pictured) died last November after suffering catastrophic injuries after being mauled by a seven-stone dog at a friend’s house in South Wales
His mother Emma Whitfield (pictured in June 2022) will today make a heartfelt plea to MPs calling for tougher penalties for owners of dangerous dogs
Ms Whitfield is expected today to describe Jack’s death, including how it was ‘heartbreaking’ to identify him by ‘showing his shoe’. Pictured is the dog that killed Jack Lis
Ms Whitfield is expected today to describe Jack’s death, including how it was ‘heartbreaking’ to identify him by ‘showing his shoe’.
She will recall how it was “unimaginable” to find out he didn’t survive the attack and how, in the “eyes of the law,” the dog that mauled Jack “wasn’t dangerous until he killed it.”
The grieving mother will ask MPs to support her call to root out XL bullies and take steps to ensure ‘no one else is ever put in my and my family’s position’.
‘There had to be a ban on the breed. Get rid of them all,” she tells politicians, the newspaper reports.
“This won’t bring my son back, but I realize it’s not as simple as banning certain dogs. There will always be another race involved.”
The Met Police reportedly bust at least one dangerous dog every day and seized 479 animals out of control last year. The force seized 333 in 2021.
Ten people were killed by dogs in the UK in 2022, with a further five killed this year, including a grandmother who was run over over the weekend by a banned breed that got out of hand.
The horror – the latest in a spate of deadly dog attacks across the country – took place while the woman, in her 70s, was lying on a sun lounger at home in Bedworth, Warwickshire, at 3:50pm on Friday.
The victim’s 49-year-old daughter desperately tried to fend off the animal when it attacked her mother.
She was bitten trying unsuccessfully to save her mother and was later taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
England and Wales saw nearly 22,000 cases of out-of-control dogs causing injuries last year.
Forty-four American bullies have been removed from the streets of London this year, The Daily Mirror reported. The breed is said to have been responsible for around 50 per cent of all dog-related deaths in the UK since 2021.
Ten people were killed by dogs in the UK in 2022, with a further five killed this year, including a grandmother who was run over over the weekend by a banned breed that got out of hand. The attack occurred while the woman in her 70s was lying on a sun lounger at home in Bedworth, Warwickshire, at 3:50pm on Friday (pictured).
The victim’s 49-year-old daughter desperately tried to fend off the animal when it attacked her mother. Officers were photographed at the scene on Friday
Deputy Chief Constable Robert Carden told the paper that police in “all regions” are now focusing on “dangerous dogs and dog attacks” and are working with officers on the scene to “ensure investigations are launched.”
The Dangerous Dog Act 1991 prohibits owning, breeding, selling, giving away or abandoning four breeds of dog, as well as banning any dog dangerously out of control.
This legislation makes four dog breeds originally bred for fighting illegal in the UK: American Pit Bull Terriers, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentinos and Fila Brazileiro.
Crossbreeds of those four are also prohibited, subject to an assessment of their physical characteristics and how well they match a “typical” description.