> ... Sherrie who sent a link about a Cockfighting
> film. Thanks for link. I also saw they re-released
> it as Born to Kill with nude-dream scenes, etc.,
> to make it marketable. Imagine the cheers as
> cocks engage...
> Pit bulls and bulls have conspicuous genitalia.
> The kill-cheers at all such events are telling. It
> is not about the dogs.;>
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http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html
Dog Bite Law Statistics
There is a dog bite epidemic in the United States.
There are almost 5 million victims annually -- about
2%% of the entire population. 800,000 need medical
attention. 1,000 per day need treatment in hospital
emergency rooms. Approximately 26 die per year. Most
of the victims who receive medical attention are
children, half of whom are bitten in the face. Dog
bite losses exceed $1 billion per year, with over $300
million paid by insurance.
The dog bite epidemic: a primer
The number of dogs
There currently are 74.8 million dogs in the USA.
(American Pet Products Manufacturers Association
(APPMA) 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey.)
The number of victims
A survey by the national Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in Atlanta ("CDC") concluded that dogs
bite nearly 2%% of the U.S. population -- more than 4.7
million people annually. (Sacks JJ, Kresnow M, Houston
B. Dog bites: how big a problem? Injury Prev
1996;2:52-4.)
Almost 800,000 bites per year -- one out of every 6 --
are serious enough to require medical attention.
(Weiss HB, Friedman D, Coben JH. Incidence of dog bite
injuries treated in emergency departments. JAMA
1998;279:51-53.)
Dog bites send nearly 368,000 victims to hospital
emergency departments per year (1,008 per day).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nonfatal
Dog Bite-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital
Emergency Departments - United States, 2001, MMWR
2003;52:605-610. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
is published by the CDC.
16,476 dog bites to persons aged 16 years or greater
were work related in 2001. (Ibid., Nonfatal Dog
Bite-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency
Departments - United States, 2001, MMWR 2003;52:608.
Every year 2,851 letter carriers are bitten. (US
Postal Service.)
Getting bitten by a dog is the second most frequent
cause of visits to emergency rooms caused by 9
activities common among children, namely playing
baseball or softball, being around a dog, playing at
the playground, riding in ATVs and mopeds, playing
volleyball, inline skating, horseback riding, being in
a baby walker, and riding skateboards. (Weiss HB,
Friedman DI, Coben JH. "Incidence of dog bite injuries
treated in emergency departments," JAMA 1998;279:53,
citing US Consumer Product Safety Commission,
"Injuries associated with selected sports and
recreational equipment treated in hospital emergency
departments, calendar year 1994." Consumer Product
Safety Review, Summer 1996;1:5. Also citing US
Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Stair Steps and
Baby Walkers Don't Mix." Washington D.C.:US Consumer
Product Safety Commission;1992. Consumer Product
Safety Alert No. 009207.)
An American has a one in 50 chance of being bitten by
a dog each year. (CDC.)
The number of fatalities.
The yearly number of fatal dog attacks in the USA is
reported as 12, 17 and 26. It is most accurate to say
that the average number was 17 in the 1980s and 1990s,
and that it has risen to 26 in this decade.
The study mentioning 12 deaths per year was published
by CDC and called Dog-Bite-Related Fatalities --
United States, 1995-1996, MMWR 46(21):463-467, 1997.
It related that there were 25 deaths in those two
years (i.e., 12.5 per year), but a footnote said that
the figure 25 probably represented only 75%% of the
actual number of dog bite related fatalities. This
study nevertheless is the source of the oft-cited
statistic that there are only 12 deaths per year; the
footnote is routinely ignored.
The study itself referred to two prior studies for the
purpose of providing a bigger and more accurate
picture. The prior studies were published by JAMA and
Pediatrics. (Sacks JJ, Sattin RW, Bonzo SE. Dog
bite-related fatalities from 1979 through 1988. JAMA
1989;262:1489-92. Sacks JJ, Lockwood R, Hornreich J,
Sattin RW. Fatal dog attacks, 1989-1994. Pediatrics
1996;97:891-5.) JAMA is the official journal of the
American Medical Association, and Pediatrics is the
official journal of the American Academy of
Pediatrics; both are considered to be authoritative
publications, which is one reason why the CDC relies
upon them. These three studies, taken together, showed
that from 1979 to 1996, 304 people in the US died from
dog attacks. The average number of deaths per year was
therefore 17. This conforms with the footnote in the
1997 study, too. Therefore, it is more accurate to
summarize the publications as showing that the average
number of deaths during the 18-year period of 1979 to
1996 was 17, despite the fact that the CDC itself
routinely says the figure is 12.
Current information about fatal dog attacks is found
in publications by individuals, not governmental
agencies:
* Merritt Clifton, Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings,
US and Canada, September 1982 to November 13,
2006, click here to download.
* Karen Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories
Behind the Statistics, 2002, self published,
available by clicking here.
* Kenneth Phillips, Canine Homicides, a section of
Dangerous and Vicious Dogs, at this website.
* Richard Polsky, Fatal Dog Attacks in the United
States.
It should be noted that fatalities are highly unusual.
For every fatal dog bite in the United States, there
are 230,000 bites that are not treated by a physician.
The dogs that are most responsible
Merritt Clifton, editor of Animal People, has
conducted an unusually detailed study of dog bites
from 1982 to the present. (Clifton, Dog attack deaths
and maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to
November 13, 2006; click here to read it.) The Clifton
study show the number of serious canine-inflicted
injuries by breed. The author's observations about the
breeds and generally how to deal with the dangerous
dog problem are enlightening.
According to the Clifton study, pit bulls,
Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes are
responsible for 74%% of attacks that were included in
the study, 68%% of the attacks upon children, 82%% of
the attacks upon adults, 65%% of the deaths, and 68%% of
the maimings. In more than two-thirds of the cases
included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal
attack was apparently the first known dangerous
behavior by the animal in question. Clifton states:
If almost any other dog has a bad moment, someone
may get bitten, but will not be maimed for life or
killed, and the actuarial risk is accordingly
reasonable. If a pit bull terrier or a Rottweiler
has a bad moment, often someone is maimed or
killed--and that has now created off-the-chart
actuarial risk, for which the dogs as well as
their victims are paying the price.
Clifton's opinions are as interesting as his
statistics. For example, he says, "Pit bulls and
Rottweilers are accordingly dogs who not only must be
handled with special precautions, but also must be
regulated with special requirements appropriate to the
risk they may pose to the public and other animals, if
they are to be kept at all."
The financial impact of dog bites
Dog attack victims in the US suffer over $1 billion in
monetary losses every year. ("Take the bite out of
man's best friend." State Farm Times, 1998;3(5):2.)
That $1 billion estimate might be low -- an article in
the Journal of the American Medical Association
reported that, in 1995, State Farm paid $70 million on
11,000 claims and estimated that the total annual
insurance cost for dog bites was about $2 billion.
(Voelker R. "Dog bites recognized as public health
problem." JAMA 1997;277:278,280.)
According to the Insurance Information Institute, dog
bites cost insurers $345.5 million in 2002, $321.6
million in 2003, $317.2 million in 2005, and $351.4 in
2006. The number of claims paid by insurers was 20,800
in 2002, but fell to 15,000 in 2005. The insurance
payment for the average dog bite claim was $16,600 in
2002, but rose to $21,200 in 2005. Liability claims
accounted for approximately 4 percent of homeowners
claims. Dog bite claims in 2005 accounted for about 15
percent of liability claims dollars paid under
homeowners insurance policies.
Researchers from the CDC estimated that the direct
medical costs of dog bites per year equal $164.9
million in the USA. Quinlan KP, Sacks JJ.
Hospitalizations for Dog Bite Injuries [letter] JAMA
1999; 281:232-233. Also available by clicking here.
Dog bites are on the rise
The number of dogs in the United States increased by
only 2%% between 1991 and 1998. (Wise JK & Yang JJ,
"Dog and Cat Ownership, 1991-1998," JAMA
1994;204:1166-67.)
The number of bites, and the cost to insurance
companies, however, rose significantly. In 1986,
nonfatal dog bites resulted in an estimated 585,000
injuries that required medical attention or restricted
activity. (Sosin DM, Sachs JJ, Sattin RW. Causes of
nonfatal injuries in the United States, 1986. Accid.
Anal. Prev. 1992;24:685-687.) By 1994 an estimated
800,000 sought medical care for bites. (Weiss HB,
Friedman D, Coben JH. Incidence of dog bite injuries
treated in emergency departments. JAMA
1998;279:51-53.)
This is a 36%% increase in medically attended bites
from 1986 to 1994.
The cost to insurance companies, measured only by
homeowner claims (as opposed to health insurance
claims and claims on other lines) grew significantly
over the past decade, although it went down by about
4%% between 2002 and 2003.
The scene of the attack
Over 50 percent of the bites occur on the dog owner's
property. (See Insurance Information Institute, Dog
Bite Liability, accessed 8/30/07.)
Dogs bite family and friends
The vast majority of biting dogs (77%%) belong to the
victim's family or a friend.
Worldwide problem
The USA is not the only country with the dog bite
problem. Canadian statistics are contained in Injuries
Associated With Dog Bites and Dog Attacks, from CHIRPP
(Canada). Australian statistics are summarized in The
public health impact of dog attacks in a major
Australian city, from The Medical Journal of
Australia.
Canine homicides and the dog bite epidemic: do not confuse them
There have been many news reports about deaths caused
by dogs in the USA. The attention given to the
homicides has put the spotlight on pit bulls and
Rottweilers. There is a very good reason for focusing
on these two breeds: in recent years, they have
usually been the number one and number two canine
killers of humans. (See below, The breeds most likely
to kill.) It therefore is correct to single out those
two breeds when talking about canine homicides,
because those two breeds lately have caused half or
more of the deaths -- a disgraceful statistic whether
it is regarded as the fault of the dogs, their
breeders, their owners, or all three.
However, the focus on death cases may leave the public
with the false impression that pit bulls and
Rottweilers are responsible for the dog bite epidemic.
It is a much broader problem than that, involving all
dogs and all dog owners. While pit bulls and
Rottweilers inflict a disproportionate number of
serious and even fatal injuries, the dog bite epidemic
involves many different breeds, and results from many
different causes. A clear distinction needs to be made
between canine homicides (i.e., incidents in which
dogs kill people) and the dog bite epidemic.
Canine inflicted homicides have remained at the same
general level (15 to 20 annually), which cannot be
said for the number of dog bites, which is too high (5
million annually) and appears to be growing higher
(see statistics, above). Considering the fact that
there are 65 million dogs in the United States (see
above), the homicide problem is minuscule. This is not
to denigrate it, but to point out that eliminating it
entirely would save only 15 to 20 people, out of the 5
million who are bitten by dogs.
The confusion caused by discussing the homicides and
the dog bites in the same breath has its most
important ramification in the area of prevention. Some
are advocating the banning of pit bulls, Rottweilers
and possibly other breeds, for reasons that range from
their alleged dangerousness to the fact that they are
very often treated inhumanely. Those who hear about
the homicides often support breed bans. (See Breed
Specific Laws, Regulations and Bans.)
However, while banning the pit bull might lower the
number of human deaths, such a ban would probably not
reduce the number dog bites in any significant manner.
After the United Kingdom banned pit bulls in the
1990s, a study showed that the number of dog bites
remained the same even though the number of pit bulls
had steeply declined. (Study cited in B. Heady and P.
Krause, "Health Benefits and Potential Public Savings
Due to Pets: Australian and German Survey Results,"
Australian Social Monitor, Vol.2, No.2, May 1999.)
As a practical matter, the current tide of public
outrage should be focused on the enactment of measures
that would deal effectively with the entire epidemic,
not merely the breeds that kill. It would be unwise to
enact all kinds of controls on one or two breeds, not
necessarily because it would be unfair, but because it
would produce narrow and therefore unsatisfactory
results. The war against crime isn't a war against
just the bank robbers, but against all criminals; the
war against drugs isn't a war against just the
Colombian drug lords, but all drug lords. For the same
reason, the dog bite epidemic must not focus on just
one or two breeds and stop there. The war on this
epidemic must be comprehensive.
The most horrifying example of the lack of breed
predictability is the October 2000 death of a
6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family's
Pomeranian dog. The average weight of a Pomeranian is
about 4 pounds, and they are not thought of as a
dangerous breed. Note, however, that they were bred to
be watchdogs! The baby's uncle left the infant and the
dog on a bed while the uncle prepared her bottle in
the kitchen. Upon his return, the dog was mauling the
baby, who died shortly afterwards. ("Baby Girl Killed
by Family Dog," Los Angeles Times, Monday, October 9,
2000, Home Edition, Metro Section, Page B-5.)
In Canine homicides and the dog bite epidemic: do not
confuse them, it has been pointed out that the dog
bite epidemic as a whole involves all dogs and all dog
owners, not just the breeds most likely to kill.
Children are the most frequent targets
Studies of dog bite injuries have reported that:
* The median age of patients bitten was 15 years,
with children, especially boys aged 5 to 9 years,
having the highest incidence rate
* The odds that a bite victim will be a child are
3.2 to 1. (CDC.)
* Children seen in emergency departments were more
likely than older persons to be bitten on the
face, neck, and head. 77%% of injuries to children
under 10 years old are facial.
* Severe injuries occur almost exclusively in
children less than 10 years of age.
* The majority of dog attacks (61%%) happen at home
or in a familiar place.
* The vast majority of biting dogs (77%%) belong to
the victim's family or a friend.
* When a child less than 4 years old is the
victim, the family dog was the attacker half the
time (47%%), and the attack almost always happened
in the family home (90%%).
The face is the most frequent target
Studies also have shown that:
* Dog bites result in approximately 44,000 facial
injuries in US hospitals each year. This
represents between 0.5%% and 1.5%% of all emergency
room visits
* The face is the most frequent target (77%% of all
injures). Mail carriers are an exception where 97%%
involve the lower extremities.
* The central target area for the face includes
the lips, nose, and cheeks.
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