Let's start with the statistics. The most common statement made by anti-Pit Bull people is that "Pit Bulls are the most frequently reported dogs in bite & attack cases." This statement is probably true but not without argument that there are many contributing factors that would omit the breed itself from any wrong doing. One, being that Pit Bulls & "Pit Bull types" of dogs are the most frequently bred dog in the U.S. and the most readily available. This in itself starts a variety of issues for the breed. #1 being populations(increases per incident statistics) #2 availability(because "everyone" has one they are usually cheap or free to acquire by individuals who might be less responsible about their overall care)
#2-A because they are more commonly acquired by less responsible individuals common responsible practice of spay or neuter are usually not practiced resulting in what? More free puppies! As a result of accidental, intentional & care free breeding of these dogs their population has risen to more than 3 million nationwide, that out numbers AKC's top 15 breeds all combined. Does any of this denote an issue with the breed itself? Absolutely not! So if I offer the scenario of you being in a room with 15 Pit Bulls, 3 Chihuahuas, a Labrador & 2 poodles and force every dog in the room to bite you, which breed is going to get the higher per incident score....ding!ding!ding! Pit Bulls! You're right!!! ....but why?(insert jeopardy theme) BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE OF THEM THAN ANY OTHER BREED!!!
Now, the fact that these misinformed or prejudice people like to throw big numbers around and because the public like the drama that big numbers imply, as advocates we have an issue.....John Everyday just read somewhere that there were 30,000 reported bites or attacks by Pit Bulls last year and what he was not informed of is that there are 3,000,000 Pit Bulls nationwide right now so that's actually about 1% of the entire population and if you could exclude irresponsible owners that figure would shatter. The person that wrote the article John read also threw in a comparative to make his point : 30,000 Pit Bull bites vs 18,000 Labrador bites....wow! pretty shocking huh? But when you weigh in the populations of the two....3,000,000 Pit Bulls against 187,000 Labradors That's almost 10% of Labradors vs 1% of Pit Bulls as known biters. So it all boils down to a numbers game along with selective disclosure. When you use all the contributing factors at your disposal you'll see that when you raise the populations, the "per incidents" rise and the percentage drops, decrease those and all the high numbers drop and low numbers rise. That same article John read also said that nearly 67% of severe Pit Bull attacks last year were fatal....what does that tell you?.....That the per incidents were very low! meaning: 10 incidents out of 30,000 were serious or severe and only 6 were fatal! Granted that 6 fatalities are 6 too many I agree but why try to place blame on the dog? Of those 6 fatalities I can guarantee that 4 were children and the other two frail adults, and a logical person would have to ask could the child fatalities have been prevented? Where was the adult supervision/intervention?
What alarms me is our hunger for drama and tragedy and not being accountable for our own actions and throwing the blame off on someone or something that can't offer an intelligent defense. As a result of this, there are many individuals groups and governments as well with genocidal goals in mind for our dogs.
Here is an actual stat at wikipedia:
The following table summarizes the number of pit bull-related fatalities in the United States from 2005–2009 as reported by news organizations:
Dog Bite-related Fatalities in the United States.[50]
Year- Total- Involving pit bull-type dogs
2005 - 28- 9 = (32%)
2006 - 29 - 9 = (31%)
2007 - 33 - 11= (33%)
2008 - 23- 9= (39%)
2009 - 30- 10= (33%)
I've said it before publicly and I'll say it again, "The last thing any breed of dog needs are bands of BSPC's (Breed Specific Pitty Committees) What they need are legions of informed individuals willing to step up on their behalf and offer intelligent defense!"
Another thing they have going against them aside from their population, the fact they are the most frequently bred dog in the U.S. & their availability is the fact that people tend to auto-associate them with specific racial & ethnic, and social groups of people. Pit Bull populations are likely highest in neighborhoods that are predominantly African American, Hispanic & lower income bracket White Americans etc. (with the riff raff so to speak). As a result they are also associated with the crime rates in these areas which is totally unfair because the majority of these people that own Pit Bulls and mixes do not acquire their dogs for preconceived misleading reputation of the breed, they are simply looking for a "good dog" and hence the availability of the breed allows them to either be sold cheap or simply given away. The fact that these are lower income areas the owners of these dogs are not likely to erect air conditioned gazebos for their dogs to live in they will be likely tied out or allowed to roam loose which tieing out increases the chances of aggression in "any" dog because his option of flight is taken away, and the fact that vaccinations are likely not a priority increases the number of un-tagged dogs being impounded. So to anyone with an idea that Pit BUlls are baby-killers, the dog of choice by crime lords & overall bad dogs, please do the research and remember...High per incident numbers means low percentages, and high percentages means low per incident numbers and contributing factors are almost endless but the main one is population! Don't believe the statistics you read, please do the research and remember it wasn't so long ago that women were thought to be too frail & sensitive to be functional members of society or people with different colored skin or eyes and now that we've progressed "slightly" morally we've turned our prejudices towards animals that do not have the option of intelligent defense. I would encourage everyone who reads this note to visit your local animal shelter and see the over-crowded Pit Bull populations, take the time to visit many kennels and see the fear (not ferocity) in their eyes. and if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer them without passing judgement...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2000)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in 2000 a study on dog bite-related fatalities (DBRF) that covered the years 1979–1998. The study found reports of 238 people killed by dogs over the 24-year period, of which "pit bull terrier" or mixes thereof were reportedly responsible for killing 76, or about 32 percent, of the people killed by dogs in the attacks identified in the study. The breed with the next-highest number of attributed fatalities was the Rottweiler and mixes thereof, with 44 fatalities or about 18 percent of the study-identified fatalities. In aggregate, pit bulls, Rottweilers, and mixes thereof were involved in about 50% of the fatalities identified over the 20-year period covered by the study, and for 67% of the DBRF reported in the final two years studied (1997–1998), concluding
"It is extremely unlikely that they [pit bull-type dogs and Rottweilers] accounted for anywhere near 60% of dogs in the United States during that same period and, thus, there appears to be a breed-specific problem with fatalities."[2]
The report's authors went on to say:
"Although the fatality data are concerning, one must broaden the context to consider both fatal and nonfatal bites when deciding on a course of action. ...[A] 36% increase in medically attended bites from 1986 to 1994 draws attention to the need for an effective response, including dog bite prevention programs. Because (1) fatal bites constitute less than 0.00001% of all dog bites annually, (2) fatal bites have remained relatively constant over time, whereas nonfatal bites have been increasing, and (3) fatal bites are rare at the usual political level where bite regulations are promulgated and enforced, we believe that fatal bites should not be the primary factor driving public policy regarding dog bite prevention."
The report's authors suggested that "generic non–breed-specific, dangerous dog laws can be enacted that place primary responsibility for a dog's behavior on the owner, regardless of the dog's breed. In particular, targeting chronically irresponsible dog owners may be effective."[41]
The latest CDC "Dog Bite: Fact Sheet" includes a disclaimer regarding this study, saying that
