Yahoo Sport 
Watch: American XL bullies and their owners meet in park to show dogs are safe
More than 50 XL bully owners hosted a meet-up in a park with young children present as part of an effort to prove their dogs are safe.
A mass gathering, thought to have been organised by the Bully Linkups Fundraiser, was held at Caludon Castle, in Coventry, on Sunday in a protest against the Government’s decision to outlaw the breed.
Footage posted on social media shows scores of the dogs and their owners lined up in a field, with as many as 62 canines thought to be present.
In the clip, many owners stood with their unmuzzled dogs, yanking their leads and harnesses to keep the pets in place as they posed for the camera.
It will be illegal to own an American bully XL in England and Wales from February 1 2024, with the ban being introduced in response to several attacks involving the breed.
But experts have previously warned that police forces will struggle when assessing if every suspected XL bully meets the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) criteria.
The definition includes descriptions of head size, height, muscularity and other physical features but was made without the input of the leading UK dog experts who withdrew from talks with the Government because of concerns it was too vague and broad a classification.
Under the rules it will be illegal to sell, breed or abandon an XL bully type dog from Jan 1 2024 and it will be an offence to own one from Dec 31 unless the animal is registered to the Index of Exempted Dogs.
Campaigners against the ban on American XL bullies have launched a legal challenge asking for the planned ban to be scrapped in favour of tightening laws around breeding and owning dogs, as well as educating owners.
