Thousands have been spent by councils on putting down XL Bully dogs.

In the six months since the government announced a ban on the dangerous breed, local authorities across the country have recovered dozens of the unregistered pets.

The highest spender on euthanising the breed is Liverpool Council with a cost of more than £7,000 to euthanise just 16 stray XL Bully dogs.

In second place was Birmingham, which euthanised 45 of 67 dogs found, costing over £6,000.

An investigation by the Daily Mail found that some councils, such as Greenwich in south east London, did not recover a single abandoned XL Bully in the five-month period.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council found 67 stray XL Bullys in the same time period. Of the 67 recovered, 45 were destroyed at a cost of £6,364.87.

This is still less than £7,244,48 which Liverpool City Council spent in the same time period to destroy just 16 dogs.

Islington Council spent just £109.50 to euthanise four dogs. A spokesperson from the council said: "The cost is low because we partner with a vet who works with a charity. They charge us only for their costs, not time, when sadly an XL Bully has to be put to sleep. We are very grateful to them for their understanding and support."

A spokesperson for Birmingham council said: "Birmingham is a densely populated area, and as the largest local authority in the country, it's unsurprising that populations of XL Bully dogs are higher in places like this compared to more sparsely populated areas."

A spokesperson from Liverpool City Council said: "The expenditure outlined in this FOI response reflected an unprecedented level of activity in light of new legislation.

"The contract for collecting and euthanising these animals has also recently been reviewed and we expect to make considerable savings under the new agreement."

Since February 1, it has been a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless you have a valid Certificate of Exemption. It is also an offence to sell an XL Bully dog, abandon an XL Bully dog or give away or breed them.

It follows a series of high profile cases involving the breed. In 2021, 10-year-old Jack Lis was killed by an XL Bully in Caerphilly, South Wales, while visiting a friend.

Earlier this month, grandmother Esther Martin, 68, was killed by two XL Bullys owned by her son-in-law Ashley Warren, 39.

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.”