Pit Bulls in Stockton-on-Tees: the law on rescue and rehoming

No. The Pit Bull is a banned type in the UK, so no rescue can legally rehome one, and we never list one. Rescues in and around Stockton-on-Tees do rehome legal breeds such as Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers, American Bulldogs, Boxers and British Bulldogs.

The Pit Bull Terrier is named in section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 ("any dog of the type known as the pit bull terrier"). It is one of five banned types in the UK: Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully (gov.uk). Whether a dog is banned "depends on what it looks like, rather than its breed or name", so a cross, or a dog listed under another label, can still be a banned type. It is against the law to sell, abandon, give away or breed from a banned dog (gov.uk). You can only keep one with a Certificate of Exemption: the dog must be neutered, microchipped, kept on a lead and muzzled in public and kept secure, and its owner must be over 16. Otherwise the penalty is an unlimited fine or up to 6 months in prison, or both, and the dog is destroyed.

You can only keep a banned dog with a Certificate of Exemption, and it is against the law to sell, give away or breed from one (gov.uk). Never list one, on LocalPetFinder or anywhere else.

Rescues rehome many strong, people-focused dogs that are not banned types: Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers, American Bulldogs, Boxers and British Bulldogs, and crossbreeds of every kind. Each rescue assesses its dogs before rehoming, and a dog with the characteristics of a banned type can't be rehomed whatever its label.