- Pit bull attacks have increased almost 8 times in 7 years.
Pit bull attacks in the U.S rose 773% from 2007-2014. The number of pit bulls involved in fatal and disfiguring attacks has risen since 2007 from 78 to 603; the number of child victims increased from 30 to 264; the number of adult victims increased from 23 to 279.
http://www.animals24-7.org/2015/01/03/773-rise-in-fatal-disfiguring-pit-bull-attacks-from-2007-to-2014/ - The number of deaths is increasing.
From 1991 to 1998, pit bulls averaged only 3 deaths per year. From 2007 to 2014, pit bulls averaged 21 deaths per year.
http://www.fatalpitbullattacks.com/blog/ - Pit bull are many times more likely to attack than any other breed.
In studies undertaken in different cities, pit bulls have been found to be 5 to 8 times more likely to attack than the next most dangerous breed of dog.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/pit-bulls-8-and-half-times-more-likely-attack/ngtc5/
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/03/pit_bulls_bite.html
http://www.livescience.com/27145-are-pit-bulls-dangerous.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/06/24/but-pitbull-would-never-attack-may-wishful-thinking/ptsvtZc0DhiFbonPuCL1cI/story.html
http://www.californiadogbitelawyer.com/pit-bull-attacks/
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/08/homewood_considers_ordinance_t.html#incart_related_stories - Pit bull attacks are more severe than other breeds.
Attacks by pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21475022 - BSL saves taxpayer money.
Taxpayers currently subsidize over $2 billion annually on U.S. shelters and euthanization, with 6 times as many pit bulls as other breeds. Best Friends Animal Society, a pit bull advocacy group in the US, estimates that if BSL is enacted, the total cost for BSL services for all dogs in the United States would be only $476,973,320.
http://bestfriends.guerrillaeconomics.net/assets/site/res/best%20friends%20methodology%20and%20write%20up.pdf - BSL reduces medical costs and saves children.
Attacks by pit bulls cost the medical system more than other breeds. About 885,000 people in the U.S. require medical attention for dog bites. Half are children. http://www.iii.org/issue-update/dog-bite-liability - BSL decreases insurance rates.
Dog bites and other canine-related injuries accounted for $530 million in homeowners’ insurance liability claim payments in 2014 — more than one-third of total U.S. homeowner claim payouts.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/14/dog-bite-insurance-payouts-are-soaring.html - Pit bull owners are frequently not able to stop attacks.
During attacks, owners of pit bull type dogs as well as on-lookers are frequently unable to disengage or stop the attacks. - Pit bull bans reduce serious bites.
A Canadian study shows that breed-specific pit bull laws lowered the overall rate at which people were hospitalized with serious dog bite injuries over a 22-year period.
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/controversial-pit-bull-bans-result-in-fewer-dog-bites-study
http://blog.dogsbite.org/2012/07/new-canadian-study-shows-pit-bull-bans.html - BSL protects other dogs in a community.
Pit bulls killed 95% of 15,000 dogs who died from dog attacks in the U.S. in 2013-2014.
http://www.animals24-7.org/2015/01/03/773-rise-in-fatal-disfiguring-pit-bull-attacks-from-2007-to-2014/ - BSL protects cats.
Pit bulls were responsible for 61% of the fatal dog attacks on cats in 2013-2014, killing 5,216 cats. While more dog deaths by pit bulls are reported than cat deaths, pit bulls were responsible for almost 2/3 of the cats killed by dogs in a two-year period.
http://www.animals24-7.org/2015/01/03/773-rise-in-fatal-disfiguring-pit-bull-attacks-from-2007-to-2014/ - Pit bull attacks require extraordinary measures from law enforcement.
Pit bull attacks on humans and animals are often severe enough that police officers need to fire weapons or shoot pit bulls in order to subdue them. - The number of criminal cases involving pit bull attacks is increasing.
Owners of pit bulls who attack and kill other people are increasingly criminally prosecuted as homicide cases.
http://www.dog-bite-law-center.com/pgs/stats.html - Many owners of pit bull type dogs do not possess insurance.
Bans can include clauses that force pit bull owners to obtain insurance liability, so victims do not go uncompensated. - Bans are increasingly common.
In response to many high profile maulings and fatal attacks by pit bulls, hundreds of US cities and towns, as well as many areas of Canada and 41 countries worldwide, have restricted ownership and increased penalties on owners for attacks by their pit bulls.
See Where are pit bulls banned in the US and Where are pit bulls banned in Canada. - Pit bull bans do not kill pit bulls.
The purpose of a pit bull ban or any other kind of restrictive pit bull legislation is not to kill pit bulls. The purpose of pit bull legislation is to eradicate mauling injuries and deaths inflicted by pit bulls, the breed involved in more than half of all severe and mauling attacks.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-05-24/news/os-ed-front-burner-pit-bulls-pro-20130523_1_pit-bulls-vicious-dogs-many-dogs
Statement from Pit Bull Rescue Central
“It is a FACT that our pit bulls, AmStaffs and pit mixes come with a built-in fighting heritage. It doesn’t matter where we get them from, whether it be the pound, a stray we pick up, or a puppy we buy from a breeder. The majority of pit bulls will, at some point in their lives, exhibit some degree of dog-on-dog aggression. This type of animal aggression is completely separate from human-aggression; a well-socialized pit bull is very good-natured with people. Yet, chances are that a “normal” pit bull will not share his affection with other animals. We cannot predict when or where it will happen and we can’t love, train or socialize it out of the dog.”
http://www.pbrc.net/misc/PBRC_dogpark.pdf
Statement from Sudden, Random, Unprovoked and Violent
“But by far and away the aggressive behavior most often involved in fatal and disfiguring dog attacks in the U.S. and Canada today is the characteristic behavior of molosser breeds, associated with hair-trigger reactivity to stimulus and the capability of doing catastrophic harm in a first-ever biting incident.”
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.ca/2015/08/a-pit-bull-advocates-interview-with.html
Barbara Kay: The Personal is Political
“Public policy is not about “you” or “me” or anyone in particular. It is about risk assessment. There are many people who smoke all their lives and never get lung cancer. That does not mean that smoking is safe. Pit bulls present an elevated risk to other animals and to humans. That is settled fact.”
http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/09/14/pit-bulls-the-personal-is-political/