New Data On Fatal Dog Bites Shows Growing Problems

About a month and a half ago, we wrote a post about dog bites and the fatalities related to them in the year 2016 in the United States. In the time since then, new information has come to light about the year 2017 — and the numbers do not depict an improvement in the overall safety surrounding dogs and the harm they inflict on innocent people.

According to DogBites.org, there were 39 fatalities related to dog bites in the United States last year. That represents a significant increase over 2016 (when 31 people died as a result of a dog bite). In addition, pit bulls were heavily involved in these fatal incidents. 74 percent of the fatal incidents involved a pit bull, even though only about 6.5 percent of the dog population in the country is made up of pit bulls.

It isn’t just the fact that pit bulls are increasingly involved in these attacks that makes this data so upsetting — it is also the overall growth in the number of fatalities related to dog bites.

The people who are attacked by dogs often suffer debilitating or catastrophic injuries. In the 39 cases we are discussing here, the victims weren’t lucky enough to survive. The owners of the dangerous dogs that attacked these innocent people have a lot to answer for, and their liability can be proven in civil court. Irresponsible owners must be held accountable for their inaction and inadequate training.

 

Source: DogBites.org, “2017 U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities,” Accessed March 16, 2018