AN XL Bully dog was tied up and burned to death in an alleyway just hours before a ban was introduced.
The muscular brown dog suffered extensive burns to its front paws, a fractured skull, and had one of its ears sliced off after being found dead in Carshalton, south London.
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A dead XL Bully was found tied up and burnt to death (stock image) Credit: Getty
The pooch was also found with his legs tied together and, disturbingly, one of his ears had also been sliced off.
A member of the public found the dead male animal in an alleyway in the capital before reporting it to the RSCPA.
Initial enquiries revealed that the dog had escaped from a garden after high wind blew down a fence during the weekend's storms.
But RSPCA Inspector Harriet Daliday said she couldn't confirm if the animal had died after being hit by a vehicle or was dispatched in a targeted killing.
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She said: "At this stage, we don't know for certain if the dog had sustained the head injury after being hit by a car, or whether this was done deliberately.
"It is deeply concerning that the dog was found with his legs tied together and had been set on fire.
"The dog also had one of his ears cut off.
"We are appealing for anyone who has any information about this incident to contact us in complete confidence."
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The death comes as a new law was passed in England and Wales on New Year's Eve bringing the XL Bully breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak revealed in September that the dangerous breed would be banned by the end of 2023 after a spate of horror attacks.
From December 31, advertising, gifting and exchanging the mutts has been outlawed and they must be kept in a secure place to prevent escape, the Government says.
The legislation makes breeding, selling, advertising, exchanging, gifting, rehoming, abandoning or allowing XL Bully dogs to stray illegal.
Dogs that are more than one year old after New Year's Eve must be neutered by June 30 while younger dogs must receive the same treatment by December 31.
Plus, people who already own the hounds will have to keep them muzzled whenever they leave their homes.
In an attempt to get rid of the hounds ahead of the deadline, online adverts were scattered with the words "now reduced" and "price drop".
Hundreds of the dogs were for sale online in the past week, with some having a price tag of less than ￡100.
But despite the rules coming into force yesterday, sites like Forever Puppy and Free Ads were still littered with listings.
Elsewhere, on the likes of TikTok, people are still illegally trying to sell puppies by sharing videos of them with the caption "for sale" and "going cheap".
Owners have been reminded that they can ask a vet to euthanize their pets and claim ￡200 compensation.
In recent weeks horror footage of XL Bully dogs has appeared online.
In one case, a terrified dog walker has to fight off an XL Bully-type hell hound as it savaged his French Bulldog.
One bystander was forced to hurl a fire pit at the beast as it clamped its jaws into defenceless Ralph.
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In another terrifying case, a man was savaged by an XL Bully-type hell hound at a train station.
He was left screaming for help as the beast latched onto his arm in front horrified onlookers.