With recent dog attacks involving breeds such as the American Bully XL, you might be wondering if other breeds will come under a new ban revealed by the prime minister, including Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has today explained that he plans to ban the American Bully XL breed after a spate of dog attacks involving the breed.

A recent attack is suspected to have involved the American Bully XL breed but it is yet to be confirmed.

But where does this leave other breeds such as Staffordshire Bull Terriers, otherwise known as Staffies?

Will Staffies be banned by Rishi Sunak?

At the moment, the prime minister says that work is being done to determine the breed that is behind these dog attacks.

In a video shared to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: “Today I have tasked ministers to bring together police and experts, to firstly define the breed of dog behind these attacks, with the view to then outlawing it.

“It is not currently a breed defined in law, so this vital first step must happen fast.

“We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year.

“These dogs are dangerous, I want to reassure the public that we will take all necessary steps to keep people safe.”

Downing Street said work had started to outlaw the American XL bully breed before a man died following a dog attack on Thursday.

At the moment, the prime minister says that work is being done to determine the breed which is behind these dog attacks (Image: Getty Images)

The government has stated that the banned dog list takes into account what a dog “looks like” rather than its breed.

The government website explains: "For example, if your dog matches many of the characteristics of a Pit Bull Terrier, it may be a banned type."

This suggests that people may be stopped for simply owning a staffy since they have similar characteristics to a Pit Bull Terrier which is a banned breed.

Which dogs are already banned in the UK?

In the UK, there are four breeds of dogs which are banned currently - Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro.

If a police officer or council dog expert believes you have a dog that is a danger to the public, they can take it away and keep it even if there have been no complaints about it or if it hasn’t been acting dangerously.