An XL bully breed dog has been condemned to death after a legal ruling at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, where it emerged that the animal’s owner had departed the United Kingdom.

Proceedings took place on Thursday, August 27, with the court informed that law enforcement officers had located the animal at premises connected to Jamie Khoo situated in High Bank, Brighton.

The 23-year-old defendant did not attend the hearing, which proceeded in his absence on a single charge relating to custody of a dog breed commonly associated with fighting.

Officers attended the property on January 8.

The prosecution outlined that a sizeable and hostile canine, believed to be an XL bully, was taken into custody.

Dog Legislation Officer Evers attended the location to provide specialist assistance.

He characterised the animal, named Choco, as displaying aggressive tendencies.

In court testimony, the officer expressed that conducting measurements at the scene would have been unsuitable, explaining that the creature’s level of aggression was such that attempting this would likely have resulted in serious injury.

On January 12, another officer sought to establish the dog’s breed through examination.

The prosecution stated that this effort proved unsuccessful due to the animal’s hostile nature.

A subsequent evaluation verified that Choco was indeed an XL bully specimen.

Officer Evers confirmed this assessment during his court appearance.

He also verified that the dog had not previously been implicated in any attacking incidents.

The court was informed that Khoo has subsequently relocated to Thailand.

The expense of accommodating Choco has been falling to the police service at a rate of fifty pounds daily.

Officers found it necessary to purchase an additional enclosure for Choco due to the animal’s dimensions exceeding the capacity of the standard dangerous dog facility, the court heard.

Officer Evers stated that euthanasia represented the sole viable course of action, noting that the animal could only have been returned to Khoo’s care and questioning whether the owner would ever return to British jurisdiction.

Presiding magistrate Mr Callaghan determined that Choco could not be safely reintegrated into the community and that Khoo had demonstrated himself unsuitable as a custodian for the animal.

A destruction order was issued for Choco.

Khoo was directed to pay ten thousand pounds in restitution to the police force, six hundred pounds toward prosecution expenses, together with a fine of one hundred and eighty pounds and an additional surcharge of seventy-two pounds.