This is the dramatic moment a Welsh farmer shoots dead his two XL Bullys after they killed 22 pregnant sheep and injured dozens more in a mass mauling.
David Hughes, 27, shot the two dogs after they had run rampant around his farm shortly before lambing season and gone into his barn to kill the sheep.
Police were called to the private agricultural land at Rhosllanerchrugog in March 2023, where the farmer, seen holding a shotgun, told officers that he could hear the dogs carrying out a massacre.
Their bodycam video captured the moment four shots rang out to kill the beasts, as well as the heartbreaking scenes of their attack, which saw 22 pregnant sheep killed and another 48 injured.
Mr Hughes was forced to shoot the two dogs dead before they could harm any more of the animals.
David Hughes, 27, shot the two dogs after they ran rampant around his farm shortly before lambing season – and went into his barn to kill the sheep
Police were called to the private agricultural land at Rhosllanerchrugog in March 2023 as the farmer brought out his shotgun as he could hear his sheep being killed by the dogs
it is now illegal to keep an XL bully without an exemption certificate and they must be kept on a lead and muzzled in public places (stock photo)
WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT
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In September last year, he appeared in court over the shooting and was banned from keeping dogs for five years and ordered to pay £900 in fines. The financial cost of the incident totalled at more than £14,000.
Footage of the horror was captured by two police officers called to the scene which showed the moment four shots rang out.
The officers ran for cover in fear the dogs might attack them before the farmer – a licensed shotgun holder – fired at the XL bullies.
One veteran officer with the police’s countryside crime unit said it was one of the worst dog attacks he had seen during his long career.
Iwan Owen, a member of North Wales Police’s Rural Crime Team, said the farmer had lost more than £14,000 worth of animals.
Mr Owen and a fellow officer were being followed by cameras as part of S4C series Y Llinell Las – which translates into English as The Blue Line – when they encountered the horror.
The six-episode series has had access to the challenging work of the Rural Crime Team, Dog Unit, Traffic Unit, the Collision Investigation Unit and the Control Room in St Asaph.
Mr Owen said he had been dealing with sheep attacks for 40 years through his work with the police.
He said: ‘I’m sure the traffic gang are fed up with people who drink and drive. Well, for us, it’s the sheep attacks that happen over and over.’
He said the farmer had no chance of stopping the dogs during the attack at the farm near Wrexham, North Wales.
The footage shows how the farmer felt distressed as the XL bully dogs went on the rampage
Police called to the scene were being filmed as part of S4C series Y Llinell Las – which translates into English as The Blue Line
Some 22 pregnant sheep were killed by the XL Bully dogs and another 48 injured
Officers ran for cover in fear the dogs might attack them before the farmer – a licensed shotgun holder – fired at the XL Bullies
Footage of the horror was captured by two police officers called to the scene with four shots ringing out as the farmer acted to help protect the sheep who had survived
Iwan Owen, a member of North Wales Police’s Rural Crime Team, said the farmer had lost more than £14,000 worth of animals
Mr Owen said he had been dealing with sheep attacks for 40 years through his work with the police – and expressed his bafflement at why people would have XL Bully dogs as pets
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He said: ‘Why the hell would someone want an XL Bully? I don’t understand why would you want a dog of like that in a home. Think how strong they are, how much damage they can do – it’s life-threatening.’
‘Farmers are tough guys – they’re used to dogs and getting hold of them, but you wouldn’t get hold of an XL Bully. There’s not much of a chance for you to walk away without being terribly injured.’
Mr Hughes was fined £500, told to pay costs and surcharge of £230 and £180 and banned from keeping animals.
Restrictions on XL bully dogs came into force at the end of last year requiring the animals to be kept on a lead and muzzled in public.
From February 1, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully in England and Wales without a certificate.
The Government has insisted a ban is necessary because XL Bullys are ‘disproportionately involved’ in serious and fatal dog attacks.
Multiple people have been killed by members of the breed, including Ian Price who was attacked by two suspected American bullies last year, 10-year-old Jack Lis who was mauled to death in 2021 and toddler Bella-Rae Birch who was savagely assaulted by her family’s pet XL Bully in March the same year.
- Y Llinell Las is broadcast on S4C at 21:00 on Tuesdays and will also be available on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer.
Injuries and deaths after attacks by XL bully-type dogs
Jonathan Halstead, 35
Jonathan Halstead, 35 – January 29, 2020
Jonathan died from a severe neck injury and bites after being attacked in his home in Oldham, Greater Manchester by his pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bronson.
It is believed the dog attacked him when its owner suffered an epileptic fit.
Jack Lis, 10
Jack Lis, 10 – November 8, 2021
Schoolboy Jack Lis, ten, suffered catastrophic injuries after being mauled by an American XL bully dog called Beast while visiting a friend’s home in Penyrheol in Caerphilly, Wales on November 8, 2021.
Neighbours and Welsh Ambulance Service paramedics desperately tried to save him but he died at the scene. Armed police destroyed the dog on site.
Adam Watts, 55
Adam Watts, 55 – December 22, 2021
Adam Watts, 55, was attacked at the Juniper Kennels and Cattery in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, near Dundee, and was pronounced dead at the scene on December 22, 2021.
MARCH 21, 2022: Undated family handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of Bella-Rae Birch
Bella-Rae Birch, 17 months – March 21, 2022
Toddler Bella-Rae Birch was attacked by her family’s pet American bully XL dog when she was just 17 months old.
The vicious dog snatched the child out of her mother’s arms while they were at their home in Blackbrook, St Helens, Merseyside, on March 21 last year.
Keven Jones, 62
Keven Jones, 62 – May 28, 2022
Keven Jones died after he was attacked by an American Bully XL dog in Wrexham, Wales on May 28 last year.
Ambulance workers attempted to save him but they were unable to stop his left leg bleeding.
Mr Jones was then pronounced dead at his son’s house following the attack.
Joanne Robinson, 43
Joanne Robinson, 43 – July 15, 2022
Mother-of-two Joanne Robinson, 43, was killed by her American bully XL dog, Rocco, after it ‘turned mad in the extreme heat’ in July last year.
She died at the scene of the attack at home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire while her partner, Jamie Stead, was left with injuries to his hands, stomach and face as he tried to pull the animal off her.
Joanne’s mother Dot, of Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, revealed at the time that Rocco had previously fought with their other dog Lola – and she had warned her daughter to ‘get rid of one of them’.
Ian ‘Wiggy’ Symes, 34
Ian Symes, 34 – August 2022
Ian ‘Wiggy’ Symes, 34, who is understood to have been walking a bully XL dog himself at a recreation ground in Fareham, Hampshire, died at the scene following a horrific dog attack in August 2022.
His devastated family said he was ‘doing something he loved’ when he died in the field in Fareham, Hampshire.
Ann Dunn, 65
Ann Dunn, 65 – October 3, 2022
Ann Dunn, 65, was found collapsed with ‘catastrophic injuries’ at her Liverpool home she shared with seven dogs on October 3 last year.
She was mauled to death by dogs including an American bully XL – and had been sent to hospital a year before her death because she had been bitten by a dog.
Shirley Patrick, 83
Shirley Patrick, 83 – December 3, 2022
Widowed grandmother Shirley Patrick, 83, died after being viciously mauled by an XL bully in her own home.
The retired nurse died in hospital 17 days after suffering ‘life-threatening injuries’ during the ‘hellish’ and ‘violent’ dog attack in Caerphilly, South Wales on December 3 last year.
Jonathan Hogg, 37
Jonathan Hogg, 37 – May 18, 2023
Jonathan Hogg, 37, was mauled to death by an American XL bully dog when it turned on him while he was looking after it for a friend.
He entered the pen when it went for him, leaving bite wounds on his arm, leg and head, an inquest heard.
He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries after the mauling in Leigh, Greater Manchester, on May 18 this year.
Ian Price, 52
Ian Price, 52 – September 14, 2023
On Thursday, September 14, ‘pillar of the community’ Ian Price, 52, was attacked and killed by two ‘devil’ XL bully dogs after they jumped out of his neighbour’s window in Stonnall, Staffordshire.
Mr Price was attacked and killed by the two dogs which jumped out of a neighbour’s window yards from a primary school. He reportedly died defending his elderly mother from the animals.
The dogs bit him and ripped the clothes from his body leaving him dying in a pool of blood in his boxer shorts in the horror attack just feet from his home.
Ian Langley, 54
Ian Langley, 54 – October 3, 2023
Ian Langley, 54, was set upon on the estate in Sunderland on October 3 this year by an enormous XL bully dog which grabbed him by the neck as he bent down to pick up his Patterdale terrier pup.
The attack left Mr Langley needing CPR for around 15 minutes as emergency services fought to stop heavy bleeding from his wounds. He died from his injuries.