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  "path": "/news/xl-bully-dog-bite-deaths-surge-two-hundred-per-cent",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-17T18:51:50.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Dog which mauled nine-month-old baby to death was XL bully",
    "Police find 'no evidence' of alleged rape in Epsom or 'involvement of asylum seekers'",
    "Father of man killed on Primrose Hill says he was 'proud' to live in diverse London",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nDog bite deaths have surged more than 200 per cent in a year despite there being an XL Bully ban.\n\nFatalities resulting from dog attacks in Britain increased by more than 200 per cent within a single year, according to new figures from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe charity's data reveals that 20 people lost their lives to dog bites in 2023, compared with just six the previous year.\n\nHospital admissions for dog bite injuries also climbed significantly, with 12,423 individuals requiring treatment during the 2023/24 period, Sky News reports.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nOverall, incidents involving dogs rose by 11 per cent between 2022/23 and 2023/24, the RoSPA report found.\n\nXL Bully dogs became illegal to sell, breed, abandon or rehome on December 31, 2023.\n\nIt also became illegal to own one without a Certificate of Exemption from February 1, 2024.\n\nThe alarming statistics form part of the organisation's broader annual review examining accidental deaths and hospital admissions across the country.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe RoSPA report paints a troubling picture of accident-related harm more broadly, with over 23,000 people dying from accidents in 2023.\n\nNearly 900,000 individuals were admitted to hospital following accidents during the 2023/24 year.\n\nThese figures represent an 8 per cent rise in accidental fatalities and a 3 per cent increase in hospital admission rates compared with the previous year.\n\nFalls proved the deadliest category, responsible for almost half of all accidental deaths at 48 per cent.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Dog which mauled nine-month-old baby to death was XL bully\n  * Police find 'no evidence' of alleged rape in Epsom or 'involvement of asylum seekers'\n  * Father of man killed on Primrose Hill says he was 'proud' to live in diverse London\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThis represented a 12 per cent increase on the prior year and a 34 per cent jump compared with two years earlier.\n\nStairs and steps were identified as the most common location for fatal falls.\n\nPoisoning accounted for more than a quarter of deaths at 27 per cent, with drug-related incidents comprising the largest portion of this category.\n\nThe report highlighted stark geographical inequalities, with residents of the North East of England, Wales and Scotland facing more than double the risk of dying in an accident compared with those living in London.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDeprivation emerged as a significant factor, with people in poorer areas \"consistently\" more vulnerable to both hospital admission and death from accidents.\n\nThose in the most deprived 10th of the population were nearly 85 per cent more likely to die accidentally than those in the least deprived 10th.\n\nThe disparity was even more pronounced for poisoning deaths, where the most disadvantaged were almost ten times more likely to die than the most affluent.\n\nContributing factors included substandard housing conditions and elevated workplace risks.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMen experienced higher rates of accidental injury and death than women, whilst elderly people suffered disproportionately, particularly from falls.\n\nRoSPA is urging the government to implement a national accident prevention strategy in response to these findings.\n\nBecky Hickman, the charity's head, said: \"Accidents devastate lives in an instant. They are often sudden, violent, and shocking, leaving families and communities to cope with consequences that can last a lifetime.\n\n\"What makes this devastation even harder to bear is the knowledge that so many of these incidents are entirely preventable.\n\n\"Our Annual Review of Accidents shows we are still not doing enough to reduce avoidable harm, life-changing injuries and personal tragedies.\"\n\nShe warned that vulnerable groups face the greatest danger, including young children, the elderly and those in deprived communities.\n\nThe charity believes that analysing injury patterns and acting on evidence could better protect individuals and communities from preventable harm.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Dog bite deaths surge more than 200 per cent in a year despite XL Bully ban"
}