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Tuesday, January 1, 2008


2007 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Statistics - DogsBite.org

Fatal Dog Attack Statistics
DogsBite.org recorded 35 fatal dog attacks in 2007. Citations of each victim's story are located on the Fatality Citations page. The last year the CDC recorded human deaths by dog breeds was 1998. Likely due to pressures from animal advocacy groups, the CDC stopped further research into this area. Since 1998, pit bulls alone have killed 111 U.S. citizens. The only other known entity, in addition to DogsBite.org, that tracks this vital data publicly is Animal People.1

2007 Dog Bite Fatalities
  • 35 U.S. fatal dog attacks occurred in 2007. Pit bull type dogs were responsible for 60%. Pit bulls make up approximately 5% of the US dog population.
  • The combination of pit bulls (21), rottweilers (4) and American bulldogs (3) accounted for 80% of all fatal attacks.
  • 51% of the attacks occurred to children (11 years and under) and 49% occurred to adults (21 years and older). Of the adults, 76% occurred to ages 55 and older.
  • 49% of fatal attacks in 2007 involved multiple dogs; 23% involved chained dogs.
  • 80% of the attacks occurred on owner property and 20% off owner property. Of the off-property attacks, 57% (4) were attributed to pit bulls.
  • 60% of the victims were female; 40% of the victims were male. Of the female victims, nearly half (10) were 55 years and older.
  • The state of Texas had the most fatalities (7). Of these fatalities, 86% (6) were attributed to pit bulls.
1Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, by Merritt Clifton, Animal People.

Related articles:
04/22/09: Report: U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities January 2006 to December 2008
12/11/08: Who Authored the CDC Fatal Dog Attack Report (1979 to 1998)?

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3 comments:

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/01/2008 1:57 AM  |  Flag  
I guess we could call it the year of the killer pit bull...

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/09/2008 9:48 AM  |  Flag  
Not surprising.

Why hasn't the CDC posted fatalities since the study published 1979-1998?

Ask Julie Gilchrist. She works for CDC and is opposed to BSL.
Is this what we call hiding the ball?

See Sports Illustrated article from 1987. This problem has existed for too long. The pit bull is a remnant of a by gone era, legal dogfighting. All states have made dogfighting illegal. Pit bulls are unfit for the urban environment.

Don Bauermeister

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/04/2009 3:59 AM  |  Flag  
The Sports Illustrated article can be found here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6472271/The-pit-bull-friend-or-killer-Is-the-Pit-bull-a-fine-animal-as-its-admirers-claim-or-is-it-a-vicious-dog-unfit-for-society

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