XL Bully events that make giant dogs pull weights slammed as 'toxic masculinity'

17 December 2023 , 08:20

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The competition sees XL Bully owners pit their dogs against each other in strength pulling contestS (Image: @Bornakang / Twitter)

Men are being accused of using their XL bully dogs in weight-pulling contests to show off their own strength.

These unusual events involve large bully-type dogs dragging heavy weights along a track. Leading animal rights charity PETA has labelled these events as "toxic" and accused them of reducing the dogs to "something to be shown off as if they reflect their owner's power".

Mimi Bekhechi, Vice President of PETA UK, Europe and Australia, said this kind of "exploitation" of large dogs is part of why they have become so "dangerous". This strange competition recently gained attention after a video of an XL bully dragging a huge weight at a contest in Thailand went viral. The massive dog can be seen struggling against the weight while men watch from around the track.

XL bullies are used for the strange pastime (stock) (Getty Images)

In the UK, some sites have promoted this activity, with competitions involving various weight categories and a strict set of rules also taking place in Britain.

Speaking to the Daily Star about the video, an upset Bekhechi from PETA said: "Weight-pulling training is commonly imposed on animals by dog fighters seeking to build up the dog's muscles, so it should be regarded as suspect at best. Not only is weight pulling dangerous as dogs can suffer from painful muscle strains and tears and long-term joint damage it also reduces sensitive, intelligent animals to something to be shown off as if they reflect their owner's power."

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Adding her thoughts on masculine behaviour and vicious breeds, she commented: "The toxic masculinity that often drives the exploitation of bully breeds because of their physical strength is the reason why XL bullies and other bully breeds are some of the most abused and dangerous dogs on the planet.

"In order to protect them and those they may attack, because they were bred long ago to fixate on a target and not let go, the ban on breeding them must come into force as soon as possible."

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Ryan Fahey