MORE than 50,000 XL Bully dogs are still in Britain despite the ban.
The huge number of hounds have been given the nod to remain with their owners – five times more than Government chiefs thought even existed.
Documents obtained by The Sun from the Department for Food and Rural Affairs, which administrates the banned breeds register, showed at least 55,000 of the vicious mutts were successfully registered by the February 1 deadline.
But experts fear there are far too few dog-trained cops to deal with the hounds, as Whitehall officials previously believed just 10,000 XLs were even in the UK.
Survivors last night said that despite new restrictions attacks would continue as cops still can’t handle the cross-bred, born-killer canines.
Man fined £165 after outraging the internet by dying puppy to look like Pikachu
Elizabeth Pettugani, 58, who required emergency surgery after a pal’s XL “turned in an instant”, told The Sun: “Attacks will absolutely keep happening.
"Police don’t have the powers to deal with these dogs.
"They don’t have enough resources or the correctly-trained officers.”
It comes after we revealed Arsenal keeper David Raya was among footie aces buying up XLs as personal protection hounds.
The ace, 28, has vowed to keep pet Goku following a string of terrifying raids on the homes of football stars.
The breed was outlawed after several attacks, but Raya has an exemption certificate.
An expert said last night: “He’s a responsible owner.”
Raya and model girlfriend Tatiana Trouboul, 27, are said to adore the mutt, even though new laws are in place outlawing XL Bullys after a string of attacks.
Goku lives in a secure cage at the couple’s multimillion-pound home in North London.
Fatally attacked
The first reported attack on a person was in Liverpool in 2017, when a toddler was severely injured by four dogs.
Dog who 'always melts hearts' with his smile hopes to find a loving family
Their owner, Andrew McGowan, was subsequently jailed.
In 2021, ten-year-old Jack Lis was killed by an XL Bully in Caerphilly, South Wales, while visiting a friend, after which two people were put behind bars.
A month later Adam Watts was killed by an XL Bully at his dog shelter in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, Scotland.
A further eight people were killed by the dogs in 2022 and 2023, including 54-year-old father-of-one Ian Langley, near Sunderland, in October last year.
This month grandmother Esther Martin, 68, was the latest person to be fatally attacked by the breed - days after the ban came into force.
She was killed by two XL Bullys owned by her son-in-law Ashley Warren, 39, who begged for the breed to be banned.
Warren, of Jaywick, Essex, said: “If my dogs did that to her, when I had never seen anything but love from them, then that breed just has a killer switch.
"I honestly thought the ban was a stupid government plan to wipe out a breed which I had never seen anything but softness and love from. Now I think they need to be wiped out.”
The breed was said to be responsible for 20 per cent of dog attacks in 2023.
Last night a register source insisted the large number of sign-ups showed compliance with the new regulations.
