Five dog breeds, including the pit bull terrier, are being banned in this state

Five breeds of dog, including the pit bull terrier, are expected to be banned, and owners held criminally responsible for attacks, under laws to be tabled when Queensland's parliament resumes.

Queensland's crackdown comes after several attacks in April left three people hospitalised. Source: Getty, iStockphoto / Alekta

Certain dog breeds will be banned and owners held criminally responsible for attacks under laws to be tabled when Queensland parliament resumes.

The government gave Queenslanders until 24 August to respond to community consultation into a crackdown on irresponsible dog owners and maintaining community safety from dangerous dogs.

Proposals for a new offence that warrants jail time of up to five years for serious attacks, and a statewide requirement for all dogs to be effectively controlled in public places form part of the bill.

The crackdown comes after several attacks in April left three people hospitalised.

Five breeds of dog that are expected to be banned in the legislation are Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanese Tosa, American pit bull terrier or pit bull terrier and Perro de Presa Canario or Presa Canario.

Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said earlier this year that a grandfather period for people who own those dogs prior to the legislation passing will allow them to keep the animal.

UK bans American XL bully

It comes after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in September announced that American XL bully dogs would be banned in the country by the end of the year after a man was killed in a suspected attack by one of the stocky, muscular dogs.

At the time, Sunak said "it's clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, it's a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on."

According to campaign group Bully Watch, which advocates for a ban on selling and breeding large XL bully dogs, the breed was responsible for more than half of all fatal dog attacks in Britain last year.

Britain is adding XL bully dogs to the list of prohibited breeds under the Dangerous Dogs Act following a spate of recent attacks. Source: Getty / Jacob King - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

XL bully dogs were originally bred from American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers and first appeared in the UK "around 2014 or 2015", with the numbers growing rapidly in recent years, the campaign group said.

A number of British animal welfare charities, including the RSPCA, said this week that banning specific dog breeds is not the solution.

In a joint statement, they instead blamed "irresponsible breeding, rearing and ownership" and said the government should instead focus on "dog control regulations, and on promoting responsible dog ownership and training".