I bred XL Bully Kimbo who half UK’s animals can be traced to – they only become killers when people give them steroids

THE breeder of the deadly American XL Bully that half of the UK animals can be traced back to has claimed many of the dogs are on steroids.

Gustavo Castro said his dog Kimbo was a “gentle giant” and he has had no aggression problems with the beast’s own offspring.

His dog was dubbed Killer Kimbo after British campaign group BullyWatch found 32 of 50 breeding stud dogs in Britain were related to him.

BullyWatch also say that dogs linked to Kimbo, who died more than a decade ago, have caused at least ten violent incidents worldwide.

But Mr Castro, from Los Angeles, said: “Kimbo’s offspring are all over the world now and it’s getting really big to have a big dog.

“Some people when they get my dogs they start injecting them with steroids and other stuff that they’re not supposed to, to get them big.

“All that stuff has side effects. You’re not going to get a normal dog, the dog’s going to be different.

“My dogs are naturally big. Puppies take more from the mother’s genes anyway. If the mothers are aggressive it isn’t necessarily Kimbo’s fault.

“I haven’t had any problems with Kimbo’s offspring either.

“I’ve currently got a Kimbo grandson and great-grandson, so it’s direct, and my dogs are perfectly fine.

“These descendants have other blood that we don’t even know about.

“Kimbo has between 500 and 600 offspring all over the US and the world.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a ban on the breed following the death of married father Ian Price, 52, who was savaged by two XL Bully dogs in Stonnall, Staffs, on Thursday.

He said: “The American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.

“It is clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, it’s a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.”

Mr Castro said he is opposed to a ban and said: “Kimbo grew up with my six daughters and they would kiss and hug him.

“They had a really good bond with him. He was a gentle giant and he didn’t bite anyone.”

But BullyWatch scientist Gloria Zsigmond said she is concerned by the large number related to Kimbo as she claims he had a history of violence in his bloodline.

She said: “A lot of the time, the Bully breeders are trying to hide how inbred the dogs are.

“Kimbo bled into all those bloodlines because he was early on and he was dominant in breeding.”