A spokesman for the First Minister was unable to say how many XL bully dogs have been moved north of the border to avoid a ban in England and Wales, despite plans to enact the policy in Scotland.

Humza Yousaf announced during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday plans to “in essence replicate” measures in place south of the border, following reports people have been bringing the animals to Scotland in order to avoid restrictions.

Under the recently-enacted UK Government legislation, the breeding, selling and abandonment of the dogs is illegal, while owners need to secure a certificate by February 1.

Speaking to journalists following First Minister’s Questions, a spokesman for Mr Yousaf was asked to provide data on the number of dogs that have crossed the border.

He was unable to, suggesting newspaper reports have had an impact on the decision.

In a statement to the PA news agency, the Scottish SPCA – the country’s leading animal welfare and rehoming charity – said it has seen no increase in the number of XL bully dogs in its care.

The First Minister’s spokesman said: “These things are always a balance.

“As the First Minister said in the chamber, we still take the approach of deed not breed – that’s still the general policy of the Government and has been for a number of years, we’ve got control of dogs notices that exist up here that don’t exist down the road.

“But certainly as the First Minister said in the chamber, we have to deal with the reality that we’re in.

“We’re reading reports that you guys are writing about potentially lots of dogs coming over the border and we have to make sure we have safeguards in place to deal with that.

“It’s a balance and we’ve taken a decision on that balance.”

Confirming the move in Scotland – which has been slammed by one of his own MSPs – the First Minister said: “What has become clear, I’m afraid in the last few weeks, is we have seen a flow of XL bully dogs coming to Scotland, a number of people coming to Scotland to bring XL bully dogs here to the country.

“As such, we will give further details to members of the Scottish Parliament through a parliamentary statement if the parliamentary bureau agrees next week.

“We will, in essence, replicate the legislation that is in England and Wales here in Scotland because ultimately, although we do have a very good system of dog control notice schemes, and we do take the approach indeed not to breed, we have to respond to the situation as it currently stands and therefore we will do what we need to do to ensure public safety.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish SPCA said the charity will comply with the decision, and that it supports legislation “to protect the public”.

It added: “However, we are disappointed that the Scottish Government has decided to take the same route as the UK Government.

“We remain opposed to a ban of this type on a specific dog type, which we believe is not the most effective way to protect the public. Instead, we believe any breed of dog can be potentially out of control and dangerous in the wrong hands.

“The Scottish SPCA has not seen an increase in the number of XL bully dogs coming into our centres since the restrictions came into force in England and Wales.

“We urge the Scottish Government to ensure that any legislation is introduced with a sufficient transition period to ensure that owners have the time and support needed to be able to exempt their dogs.

This Government has been bullied itself into doing this to comply

“We also call on the Scottish Government to ensure that the teams responsible for enforcing this law have the resources and training they need before the ban begins, to ensure that no more dogs than absolutely necessary become caught up in this.”

Christine Grahame, an SNP MSP since 1999, told ITV Border: “This Government has been bullied itself into doing this to comply.

“It’s terrified that there could be another attack – and I agree that is something that could happen – and they’ll get the blame.”

She added she is “rebelling” against the policy, saying there is “no way I can subscribe to this”.

Scottish community safety minister Siobhian Brown is expected to make a statement laying out the policy in more detail next week.

This week, she told MSPs the matter was being reviewed “urgently” and said it would be “preferable” if people did not purchase XL bullies.

However the Scottish Conservatives said she should not “dither and delay” on the issue.

On Thursday, Tory MSP Jamie Greene said: “This is a humiliating U-turn for Humza Yousaf and the SNP Government.

“The First Minister and his colleagues have wasted months playing political games and causing worry, only to now announce they will, rightly, replicate the UK Government’s ban anyway.

“Having picked a needless fight with the UK Government, the SNP appeared blindsided by these dogs being rehomed in Scotland – when everyone else knew it would be the inevitable consequence of their actions.

“SNP ministers’ stubborn refusal to back a sensible UK-wide policy only put lives at risk in Scotland, caused unnecessary confusion and has led to huge repercussions over animal welfare.”