Cities with Successful Pit Bull Laws; Data Shows Breed-Specific Laws Work

Tracking Results: 2006 to Present Day

Read about cities and counties with successful pit bull laws. Well-written breed-specific legislation save the lives and limbs of children, adults, senior citizens and beloved pets.

Pit Bull Laws Save Lives

DogsBite.org - Cities and counties in at least 14 states report successful results after enacting a breed-specific ordinance. These states include: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin. The province of Ontario also continuously reports successful results after it's 2005 pit bull ban. The below statistics absolutely show that breed-specific laws work.

Salina, Kansas
Population 46,550 | View ordinance
In December 2019, Salina City Commissioners voted 3-2 to not overturn a breed-specific ordinance, which prohibits pit bulls from city limits. Statistical data was also released at this time.

The pit bull ban was enacted back in 2004. Prior to the law being passed there were 24 pit bull bite incidents in a two-year span, between 2003-2004. Since that time, in the next 15 years through this year (2005-2019), there have been 17.

Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Preemption § 4-13.1-16
In October 2019, Pawtucket released statistical data showing a sharp rise in pit bull attacks after the city was forced to halt its succesful pit bull ban in 2013 due to a state preemption law.

During the 10 years the city had the ban in place, starting in 2004, there were 23 total attacks involving pit bulls.

But data provided to The Breeze in response to a public records request this week shows there have been 116 attacks where pit bulls or pit bull mixes were the aggressor in the five years since the ban was overturned, or more than 10 times as many per year since the ban was lifted.

--- snip ---

There were 319 total dog bites/attacks involving people or other animals from July 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2019, with those 116, or more than 36 percent of the total, attributed to pit bulls or pit bull mixes.

Prince George's County, Maryland
Population 909,327 | View Ordinance
Also in October 2019, data from the Prince George’s County Health Department said there had been a 43% reduction in all dog bites since the pit bull ban was enacted in the 1990s.

In 1996, before the ban passed, there were 853 dog bites reported in Prince George’s, 108 of which were from pit bulls or pit bull mixes, said county Health Department spokesman George Lettis. There were 484 dog bites reported in Prince George’s in 2010, 70 of which were from pit bulls or mixes, he said, adding that 2010 is the most recent year for which breed-specific data is available.

--- related article ---

Franklin cited a report by Forbes that 66% of dog fatalities to humans were attributed to pit bulls, even though they make up only 6.5% of the dog population and a report from the Washington Post that said data from the Prince George’s County Health Department said there had been a 43% reduction in dog bites since the ban was enacted in the 1990s.

Springfield, Missouri
Population 166,810 | View Ordinance
In July 2017, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department released statistics of
their successful pit bull ordinance after a loose pit bull attacked two children in their own yard.

According to city code, pit bulls must be spayed or neutered, micro-chipped, securely confined, and owners must also follow other strict protocol.

"This didn't come out of a vacuum. There's a reason these restrictions were put in place," said Clay Goddard, assistant director for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.

Goddard said before the ordinance went into effect, pit bulls made up an alarming number of the reported dog bites citywide. Numbers show in 2005 there were 102 reported dog bites. Pit bull bites accounted for 34 of those.

Since the ordinance went into effect in 2006, Goddard said the number of attacks involving pit bulls has sharply declined, with 78 total attacks in 2015 (the most recent year for which statistics were complete) with 11 of those being pit bulls.

"We think that's evidence of the ordinance working," Goddard said.

Springfield, Missouri
Population 166,810 | View Ordinance
In January 2017, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department released statistics of their successful pit bull ordinance after a city council member threatened to repeal it.

In 2006, the pit bull ordinance was enacted. The breed was not banned. Owners simply had to get them registered, spay and neuter them, get them microchipped, and post a sign about their dogs.

"Like anything in society, you do not make laws for the best of us. You make them for the worst of us. And that is what we did," Gipson stated.

--- snip ---

"Other dog breeds bite," Gipson said. "Pit bulls are very strong and athletic dog. When they bit they do not let go and cause some severe damage. They are bred to fight. They are fighting dogs. It is inherent in their nature."

--- snip ---

Before the law, one in three dog bites in town were from pit bulls/pit bull mixes. Those numbers have since decreased dramatically, from 34 cases in 2005 to just 16 last year. Also, before 2006, the city picked up and euthanized hundreds of pit bulls a year. In 2016, just 26 were put down.

Beaufort County, South Carolina
Population 179,589 | Ordinance
In December 2016, statistics showed that after Beaufort County adopted a mandatory pit bull sterilization ordinance, the number of spay and neutered pit bulls has more than doubled.

"The ordinance, approved by the Beaufort County Council in October 2015 and municipal governing bodies in subsequent months, requires that all pit bulls and pit mixes be altered in an effort to fight the overpopulation burdening shelters.

Between October 2014 and when the ordinance was passed, 285 pit bulls were spayed and neutered by the county shelter and the Hilton Head Humane Association free of charge.

That number jumped to 691 in the roughly 14 months since the new regulations took effect, director of Beaufort County Animal Services Tallulah Trice said Tuesday.

More than 400 of those recently spayed pit bulls were female, she said. Because female pits can have litters of up to a dozen puppies, the stepped-up sterilization efforts have stopped the birth of several thousand puppies -- many of which would have likely ended up in shelters, she said."

Sioux City, Iowa
Population 82,684 | View Ordinance
In September 2016, statistics showed that attacks by pit bulls were reduced by a factor of six since Sioux City adopted a pit bull ban in 2008. A ban is designed to reduce pit bull mauling injuries, not "all dog bites," many of which are as minor as "breaking the skin." (See: related data chart)

"During the same time period [2007 to 2015], the number of pit bull bites has dropped significantly. Siouxland District Health reported 24 bites by pit bull and pit bull mixes in 2007, a number that decreased to four in 2015. The number of reported pit bull bites has not risen above the single digits since 2011.

Sioux City stats show vicious and high-risk dog designations are also down, dropping from 46 in the city's 2010 fiscal year to five in fiscal year 2016.

--- snip ---

According to city dog licensing information, Sioux City residents registered 93 pit bulls in 2016, about one-sixth as many as were registered in 2009. Pit bulls currently account for 2 percent of the city's registered dogs."

San Bernardino County, California
Population 2,035,210 | View Ordinance
In September 2015, a spokesman for San Bernardino County said the mandatory pit bull sterilization ordinance adopted in 2010 has cut pit bull admissions and euthanasia of pit bulls by more than half.

David Wert, a spokesman for San Bernardino County, said it has.

“The prime purpose of the sterilization ordinance (in that county) was to reduce the admission and euthanasia rates of pit bulls at county-owned-and-operated shelters,” Wert said.

And it’s working, he said.

In fiscal year 2009-10, right before the measure was passed, the county reported 2,066 pit bull admissions. Wert said 77 percent of them were put down.

“Since the ordinance went into effect, the admission and euthanasia rates for pit bulls have steadily decreased,” he said in an email note. “In fiscal year 2014-15, we had 1,037 pit bull admissions, 31 percent of which had to be euthanized.”

Toronto, Canada
Population 2,615,060 | View Ordinance
In October 2014, The Star reported on the glowing success of the 2005 Ontario pit bull ban. Pit bull bites per capital are down by more than a factor of six since 2004.

From 2001 to 2004, pit bulls were more likely to bite people and domestic animals than any other breed, the statistics show.

In 2004, the last full year before the ban, there were 984 pit bulls licensed in Toronto and 168 reported pit bull bites. That’s more than double the rate of German shepherds, the next most aggressive breed.

The figures, compiled by the city’s Animal Services division at the Star’s request, come from comparing a breed’s licensed population with the number of times it was reported to have bitten a person or pet.

Nearly a decade after the ban was put in place, its purpose appears to have been achieved: pit bull bites in the city have virtually disappeared.

In 2013, the pit bull population was down to 501, and there were only 13 reported pit bull bites. (See: related data charts)
--- related editorial ---

Indeed, reported incidents of such attacks have almost disappeared.

Reporter Eric Andrew-Gee and data analyst Joel Eastwood crunched municipal numbers and found that, from 2001 to 2004, pit bulls were more likely than any other breed to bite people and pets in Toronto.

In 2004, the last full year before the ban, there were 984 licensed pit bulls in the city and 168 reported bites. Last year there were 501 pit bulls registered in Toronto, and just 13 bites. That’s right — the number of reported bites went from 168 to 13.

Sioux City, Iowa
Population 82,459 | View Ordinance
In August 2014, six years after the city enacted a pit bull ban, bites and vicious dog declarations have drop considerably.

Police records show Sioux City police officers responded to 37 percent fewer dog bites in 2013 than they did in 2007, the year before the breed ban was passed. During that time, the number of reported bites declined each year but one.

More than 550 pit bulls were registered before the deadline in April 2009. Currently, 163 are registered with the city.

--- snip ---

Groetken served as the vicious dog hearing officer before his retirement from the Sioux City Police Department.

"All in all, I think a reasonably prudent person would think, well, something must have happened because the number of pit bulls has reduced in the city, the number of bites has reduced and the number of high risk (designations) has been reduced," said Groetken.

--- snip ---

Vicious dog designations made by Animal Control officers dropped from 33 in fiscal year 2008-09, the year of the ban and first rule changes, to just five last fiscal year. Like the city, Animal Control is on a July 1 to June 30 fiscal year.

Antigo, Wisconsin
Population 8,044 | View Ordinance
In July 2014, after Wausau citizen Cindy Ryder was attacked by a pit bull, discussions of a pit bull ban arose. The nearby cities of Antigo and Greenwood reported successful preventative bans.

The city of Antigo has been pit-bull-free for almost 20 years.

In 1995, the city hired an attorney who suggested that the city adopt an ordinance prohibiting the oft-maligned dogs from the city, said Kaye Matucheski, city clerk-treasurer for Antigo. The ordinance largely was a preventative measure; Antigo hadn't had any vicious dog attacks, but pit bulls were being blamed for maulings all over the United States, so the city acted before an attack happened rather than waiting to react afterward.

The ordinance the city adopted prohibits pit bulls and mixes of the breed, as well as any other vicious or dangerous animals, from being in the city. In the almost 20 years since it was adopted, Antigo has had no attacks, no maulings, and no dogs killed by pit bulls or other dogs.

--- snip ---

The village of Stratford and the city of Greenwood both have similar bans on pit bulls and dangerous animals. Lonna Klinke, Greenwood's clerk-treasurer, said her city's experience is much like Antigo's: no specific incidents inspired the ban, and since it was adopted, the city has had no attacks and issued no citations.

Greenwood, she said, has no pit bull problem.

Springfield, Missouri
Population 162,191 | View Ordinance
In March 2014, after a state senator sponsored a bill that would "destroy communities' right of self-determination," statistical data was released about Springfield's pit bull ordinance.

According to statistics taken from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, as reported in the News-Leader March 12, for the three-year period beginning in 2004, there were 42 "vicious" animal attacks recorded in the jurisdiction covered. After passing the local ordinance banning or strictly controlling the ownership of pit bull or pit bull types, the number of attacks has dropped dramatically. For the five-year period from 2007-2011, there was a total of 14.
--- March 12 statistical data ---

According to data from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, vicious dog attacks are down since the city's pit bull ban went into effect in 2006 … In 2004, there were 13 vicious dog attacks, 18 in 2005 and 11 in 2006. The city's ban went into effect in the fall of 2006. In 2007, eight vicious attacks took place. There was zero attacks in 2008, and one attack each in 2009 and 2010 and four attacks in 2011, the last year of data given in the study.

Aurora, Colorado
Population 339,030 | View Ordinance
Also in March, Aurora released statistical data showing a significant reduction in the volume of pit bull attacks and pit bulls euthanized after adopting a pit bull ban in 2005.

"Since the ban has been in place, bites are down 73 percent from pit bulls," said Cheryl Conway, a spokeswoman for the city’s animal care division.

She described various problems the city encountered before enacting the ban in 2005 that included irresponsible owners letting the dogs run at large, and owners using pit bulls to taunt pedestrians.

She added that the dogs placed a tremendous burden on city staff. According to city documents, before the ordinance was enacted in 2005, up to 70 percent of kennels in the Aurora Animal Shelter were occupied by pit bulls with pending court disposition dates or with no known owner.  That number is now only 10 to 20 percent of kennels.

"There hasn’t been a human mauling in many years. Complaints and requests related to pit bulls are down 50 percent. Euthanasia of pit bull dogs is down 93 percent. Of those few that are put down, they are primarily those that come in as strays and their owners don’t come to claim them," she said.

Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Population 71,148 | View Ordinance
In September 2013, Pawtucket released statistical data showing the dramatic decline in the number of pit bull attacks since adopting a pit bull ban in 2004.

For the four years leading up to the ban, from 2000 to 2003, officers responded to 71 incidents of biting or scratching involving pit bulls in Pawtucket, a majority of those, 51, involving attacks on people.

In the 10 years since the ban was put in place, police responded to 23 total attacks involving pit bulls, with only 13 of those involving attacks on people.

--- snip ---

• 2000 - 20 incidents, 18 involving attacks on people, two involving other animals.
• 2001 - 14 incidents, nine involving attacks on people, five on animals.
• 2002 - 17 incidents, 14 involving attacks on people, three on animals.
• 2003 - 20 incidents, 11 involving attacks on people, nine on animals.

The following are the 23 pit bull attacks in the city for the 10 years since Pawtucket's pit bull ban was unanimously approved by the Rhode Island General Assembly:

• 2004 - Eight incidents, five involving attacks on people, three involving attacks on other animals.
• 2005 - One incident involving a person being attacked.
• 2006 - Three incidents, one involving an attack on a person, two on animals.
• 2007 - Four incidents, one involving an attack on a person, three on animals.
• 2008 - No incidents.
• 2009 - Two incidents, both involving attacks on people.
• 2010 - No incidents.
• 2011 - Two incidents, both involving attacks on people.
• 2012 - No incidents.
• 2013 - Three incidents, one involving an attack on a person, two on animals.

Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Population 71,148 | View Ordinance
In July 2013, Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien and City Council President David Moran sent a joint letter to Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee asking that he reject a statewide anti-BSL measure before him (See: Letter in full).

While they agree that some pit bulls can make good pets, said Moran and Grebien, "the number and severity of pit bull attacks against people and other animals in the early 2000s required us to take the action we did."

Prior to the 2004 city ordinance, Pawtucket Animal Control officers responded to many calls about serious pit bull attacks against people and animals, according to the letter. Two of the worst cases involved a nine-month pregnant woman and a child.

--- snip ---

While proponents of the bill argue that breed-specific bans don't work, said Grebien and Moran, "the results in Pawtucket dramatically prove that they do work."

In 2003, the year before the local ban on pit bulls went into effect, 135 pit bulls, all from Pawtucket, were taken in at the Pawtucket Animal Control Shelter for a variety of health and safety reasons, with 48 of those dogs needing to be put down.

In 2012, 72 pit bulls were taken in, only 41 from Pawtucket, with only six needing to be euthanized, according to the two officials.

"That's a tremendous improvement," they state in their letter.

San Francisco, California
Population 825,863 | View Ordinance
In June 2013, after a Bay Area child was killed by a family pit bull, San Francisco Animal Care and Control cited the decrease in pit bull bites and euthanasia since the adoption of a 2005 pit bull law.

After 12-year-old Nicholas Faibish was fatally mauled by his family's pit bulls, the city adopted a mandatory spay-neuter law for the breed. The reasoning was that fixed dogs tend to be calmer and better socialized.

Since then, San Francisco has impounded 14 percent fewer pit bulls and euthanized 29 percent fewer - which is a "significant decrease," said Rebecca Katz, director of the city's Animal Care and Control department.

Another significant indicator, she said, is that there have been 28 pit bull bites reported in the past three years - and 1,229 bites by other breeds during the same period. In the three-year period before that, there were 45 pit bull bites and 907 incidents involving other breeds.

Omaha, Nebraska
Population 415,068 | View Ordinance
In January 2013, the Nebraska Humane Society reported that pit bull bites dropped to 31 in 2012, down from 121 in 2008 (a 74% reduction), the year that Omaha enacted a progressive pit bull ordinance.

• 2008 Pit Bull Bites Total: 121 (pre-breed specific ordinance)
  Level 2: 52; Level 3: 58, Level 4: 8; Level 5: 3 (69 were Level 3-5 attacks)
• 2009 Pit Bull Bites Total: 73
  Level 2: 49; Level 3: 17; Level 4: 4; Level 5: 3 (24 were Level 3-5 attacks)
• 2010 (through August) Pit Bull Bites Total: 28
  Level 2: 19; Level 3: 6; Level 4: 2; Level 5: 1 (9 were Level 3-5 attacks)
• 2012 Pit Bull Bites Total: 31
  No bite level break down provided1

Ypsilanti Township, Michigan
Population 53,362 | View Ordinance
Also in January, after Ypsilanti Township passed a mandatory pit bull sterilization law in 2010 to reduce pit bull euthanasia, pit bull intake and euthanasia was cut nearly in half in just two years.

Officials said the ordinance is an attempt to reduce the number of pit bulls euthanized and control the breed's population. So far, more than 700 pit bulls have been sterilized for free through a grant awarded to the HSHV from PetSmart, and the program has enough funds left to sterilize another 150.

Ypsilanti Township accounted for nearly 50 percent of the shelter’s pit bull intake, while 11.2 percent came from the City of Ypsilanti and 7.4 percent from Ann Arbor.

In 2011, as the law went into effect, 237 pit bulls were brought into the Humane Society. That number has dropped to 113 through the end of October and is projected to rise to 135 by the end of the year.

Euthanasia of pit bulls dropped from a peak of 139 dogs in 2009 to 103 in 2011 and 56 through the end of October. Officials are projecting putting down 58 pit bulls total in 2012.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Mike Radzik, director of the office of community standards, said.

Saginaw, Michigan
Population 51,230 | View Ordinance
In November 2012, Saginaw reported a reduction in dog attacks eighteen months after enacting a "Light" BSL ordinance1 requiring owners of the top 5 dangerous dog breeds2 to comply with new regulations.

Eighteen months after Saginaw created its dangerous dog ordinance, put into effect in June 2011, Saginaw City Chief Inspector John Stemple said it has helped to lower the amount of dog attacks in the city.

"It was the government reacting to a problem," Stemple said. "And if you look at the numbers, it's been very effective."

--- snip ---

The ordinance requires residents to register dogs whose breeds are deemed "dangerous" at the City Clerk's office, post a "Dog on premises" sign in the front of their homes and when outdoors, keep their animals either on a leash or within a 4-foot-high fenced area or kennel.

The breeds included in the ordinance are pit bulls, presa canario, bull mastiffs, rottweilers and German shepherds.

Stemple said he has heard from employees at Consumers Energy and the U.S. Postal Service that the signs and tethering rules have made their work safer. The number of reported dog bites fell in 2011 to nine, from 24 in 2009.

Toronto, Canada
Population 2,503,281 | View Ordinance
In a November 2011, public health statistics published by Global Toronto showed that pit bull bites dropped dramatically after Ontario adopted the Dog Owners Liability Act in 2005, an act that banned pit bulls:

The number of dog bites reported in Toronto has fallen since a ban on pit bulls took effect in 2005, public health statistics show.

A total of 486 bites were recorded in 2005. That number fell generally in the six years following, to 379 in 2010.

Provincial laws that banned 'pit bulls,' defined as pit bulls, Staffordshire terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers and dogs resembling them took effect in August 2005. Existing dogs were required to be sterilized, and leashed and muzzled in public.

Bites in Toronto blamed on the four affected breeds fell sharply, from 71 in 2005 to only six in 2010. This accounts for most of the reduction in total bites. (See: Data chart)

San Bernardino County, California
Population 2,035,210 | View Ordinance
In August 2011, San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control, which oversees unincorporated areas and Highland and Yucaipa, reported a 9.6 decrease in dog bites after enacting a pit bull sterilization law in 2010.

The law, approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors last week, expands upon an ordinance approved last year that requires pit bull owners to spay or neuter their pets.

Supervisor Neil Derry introduced the original proposal in response to an increasing number of attacks by pit bulls in recent years that resulted in four deaths -- two of them young children -- in the last five years.

The county saw a 9.6 percent decrease in dog bites in the year since the spay/neuter program was instituted, said Brian Cronin, the county's animal care and control division chief.

Omaha, Nebraska
Population 408,958 | View Ordinance
In September 2010, the Nebraska Humane Society provided bite statistical data to city council members and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the pit bull ordinance adopted by the City of Omaha in late 2008.

"It is the position of the Nebraska Human Society that this ordinance has been effective in reducing bites involving dogs defined as "Pit Bulls" in the ordinance."

Judy Varner, President and CEO, Nebraska Human Society
-- analysis --
Varner's attached statistical data shows that bites by pit bulls dropped 40% after one year of the adoption of the ordinance, 121 bites in 2008 down to 73 bites in 2009. The bite rate dropped even further in 2010.

2008 Pit Bull Bites: 121 Total

2009 Pit Bull Bites: 73 Total

2010 Pit Bull Bites (through August): 28 Total

Ottumwa, Iowa
Population 24,998 | View Ordinance
In July 2010, Police Chief Jim Clark said there had been no recorded pit bull attacks since the city's 2003 pit bull ban. Between 1989 and 2003, the city had a pit bull ordinance, but still allowed pit bulls as "guard" dogs.

Police Chief Jim Clark says since the ban, there have been no recorded attacks by the animals.

"We haven't had any attacks since then for one thing because it is illegal," said Clark. "Most people are keeping their dogs inside their house or inside their basement and not letting them out loose so therefore they're not around other people to attack them."
--- related article ---

In the two-and-a-half years before the 2003 ban, Ottumwa police recorded 18 pit bull attacks, including the death of 21-month-old Charlee Shepherd in August 2002. There were at least three other attacks on children during this time.1

Salina, Kansas
Population 47,707 | View Ordinance
In March 2010, a subsequent article was written about the effectiveness of Salina's pit bull ordinance. Rose Base, director of the Salina Animal Shelter who lobbied for the ordinance, told the Salina Journal:

The ordinance has made a difference, she said. Records at the Salina Animal Shelter indicate there were 24 reported pit bull bites in 2003 and 2004, and only five since -- none from 2009 to present.

Salina has 62 registered pit bulls, Base said. Before the ordinance she guessed there were "close to 300." Since the first of this year three of the registered pit bulls have died of old age.

"We definitely haven't had the severity of bites that we had in the past," Base said. "Our community has been somewhat safer because of the law that was passed."2

Council Bluffs, Iowa
Population 58,268 | View Ordinance
After two serious and separate pit bull maulings occurred on March 4, 2010 in the City of Indianapolis, the assistant city attorney of Council Bluffs spoke to a local radio host about Council Bluff's 2004 pit bull ban:

"We passed a ban and started enforcing it in January of 05, at the end of 05 our numbers had dropped down to 19 people injured by pit bulls. In 06, the numbers dropped to 7 people injured by pit bulls. In 07, 2007 we only had two people injured by pit bulls and we haven't had a person injured by pit bulls since. So in 2008 and 2009 we had zero attacks. As of March 5th, 2010 we have yet to have a pit bull injury here in Council Bluffs."

San Francisco, California
Population 808,977 | View Ordinance
When the City of Auburn debated enacting a pit bull law in January 2010, Sgt. Bill Herndon of the San Francisco Police Department weighed in about the success of San Francisco's 2005 pit bull law:

Since requiring all pit bulls to be neutered, they say they are finding fewer pit bulls involved in biting incidents.

Sgt. Bill Herndon, of the San Francisco Police Department's vicious dog unit, said the numbers and severity of pit bull attacks are down since San Francisco enacted an ordinance in 2005 after the mauling death of 12-year-old Nicholas Faibish.

"The number of complaints of mean pit bulls has dropped dramatically," Herndon said.

San Francisco's animal control department reports more than 30 percent fewer pit bulls at the shelter or being euthanized."

"We've seen it as very effective from an animal welfare perspective," said Rebecca Katz, the department's interim director.

Lancaster, California
Population 145,074 | View Ordinance
After Lancaster adopted a mandatory spay and neuter law for pit bulls and rottweilers in early 2009, it was reported just one year later, in January 2010, that the results of the ordinance were very positive:

City officials said that 1,138 pit bulls and Rottweilers were impounded last year by the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. Of those, 362 were voluntarily surrendered by their owners in response to Lancaster’s ordinance.

"A year ago, this city was overrun with individuals -- namely, gang members -- who routinely used pit bulls and other potentially vicious dogs as tools of intimidation and violence," Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said in a statement.

--- snip ---

Parris believes there is a correlation between the results of the dog ordinance and a drop in the city’s gang crime rate. Lancaster’s violent gang crime, which includes homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, fell by 45% last year, and there was a drop in overall gang crime by 41%, Parris said, citing statistics from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department."

Omaha, Nebraska
Population 438,646 | View Ordinance
After the City of Omaha adopted a pit bull law in 2008, Mark Langan of the Nebraska Humane Society, who opposed the law, said in September 2009 that pit bull biting incidents were down 35% since its adoption:

Despite the attack of Haynes, The Humane Society's Mark Langan says pitbull bites are down since new laws went into effect last year. Langan says so far this year 54 bites have been reported compared to 83 last year.

Prince George's County, Maryland
Population 834,560 | View Ordinance
Prince George's County passed a pit bull ban in 1996. In August 2009, Rodney Taylor, associate director of the county's Animal Management Group, said that the number of pit bull biting incidents has fallen:

Taylor said that during the first five to seven years of the ban, animal control officials would encounter an average of 1,200 pit bulls a year but that in recent years that figure has dropped by about half. According to county statistics, 36 pit bull bites, out of 619 total dog bites, were recorded in 2008, down from 95 pit bull bites, out of a total of 853, in 1996.

Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Population 71,148 | View Ordinance
When the City of Woonsocket was debating a pit bull ordinance in June 2009, the animal control supervisor in Pawtucket, John Holmes, spoke about the enormous success of Pawtucket's 2003 pit bull ban:1

Holmes says he predicted that it would take two years for Pawtucket to experience the full benefit of the law after it was passed, but the results were actually apparent in half the time.

"It's working absolutely fantastic," said Holmes. "We have not had a pit bull maiming in the city since December of 2004."

Holmes says the law also capped the number of legal pit bulls in Pawtucket to about 70 animals.

Little Rock, Arkansas
Population 189,515 | View Ordinance
When the City of Indianapolis was discussing a pit bull sterilization law in April 2009, Little Rock Animal Services Director Tracy Roark spoke about Little Rock's successful 2008 pit bull ordinance:

"There was a day when you could walk down any street in center city Little Rock, you could see several pit bulls chained up. You don't see that anymore," said Tracy Roark with Little Rock Animal Services.

Roark told Eyewitness News over the phone that pit bull attacks have been cut in half and credits their new law with getting them there.

"This is the most abused dog in the city," said Roark.

The Little Rock law passed last year and requires pit bulls to be sterilized, registered and microchipped. Also dogs - regardless of the breed - are also not allowed to be chained up outside.

Fort Lupton, Colorado
Population 6,787 | View Ordinance
When the City of Fort Collins was mulling a pit bull law in March 2009, Fort Lupton's Police Chief spoke about Fort Lupton's successful 2003 pit bull ban, including zero pit bull biting incidents since the law's adoption:

Fort Lupton Police Chief Ron Grannis said the city hasn’t had a pit bull bite since the ban was enacted, but it still has the occasional pit bull that is picked up and taken away. Although he said the ban has not been well-received by every resident, he thinks it was the right decision for the city.

"I believe it makes the community safer,” he said. “That’s my personal opinion. Pit bulls are not the kind of dogs most people should have. They are too unpredictable. ... These dogs have been bred for thousands of years to be fighters.

You can’t take it out of them. A lion cub may be friendly for a while, but one day it can take your head off."

Wapato, Washington
Population 4,582 | View Ordinance
In 2008, the City of Wapato passed an ordinance that bans new pit bulls, rottweilers and mastiffs. Nine months after its adoption, in March 2009, Wapato Police Chief Richard Sanchez reported successful results:

Nine months into the ban and police calls about vicious dogs have been cut in half. The Wapato Police tell Action News they've gone from 18 reports in January, February and March of last year to seven so far in '09. "Seven calls in three months... that's nothing," says Chief Richard Sanchez, Wapato Police Department.

Chief Sanchez credits local cooperation for the decline of dangerous dogs.

Springfield, Missouri
Population 156,206 | View Ordinance
In April 2008, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department released data showing that pit bull biting incidents declined following Springfield's adoption of a pit bull ordinance in 2006:

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department reports that dog bites and vicious dog complaints are declining since the implementation of the Pit Bull Ordinance in the City of Springfield two years ago. In 2005 the health department fielded 18 vicious dog complaints, but only eight in 2007. Bites were down from 102 in 2005 to 87 in 2007.

--- snip ---

The ordinance, which requires pit bull owners to register their dogs annually, has also resulted in fewer pit bull dogs being impounded at the Springfield Animal Shelter. In 2005 there were 502 pit bull and pit bull mixes impounded, compared to only 252 in 2007.

"Because we are impounding fewer pit bulls, we've also seen overcrowding in our shelter subside," says assistant director Clay Goddard. "It is the natural tendency of pit bulls to fight, so our animal control staff are forced to segregate them in individual pens. When we have several pit bulls in the shelter simultaneously, this severely limits space for other dogs."

Toronto, Canada
Population 2,503,281 | View Ordinance
In a March 2008 Toronto Sun article, Toronto animal services reported that pit bull biting incidents had dropped significantly since the adoption of the Dog Owners Liability Act 2005, an act that banned pit bulls:

And reports of bites by pit bull type dogs have dropped dramatically.

In 2004, the animal services department received reports about 130 of the powerful animals biting humans and animals.

The numbers dropped by substantial increments in subsequent years: 71 in 2005; 53 in 2006; and 44 in 2007.

Reading, Pennsylvania
Population 80,560 | City Website
After an 8-year legal battle, pit bull advocates dismantled a pit bull law adopted by Reading in 1998. It was reported in the same news article, in February 2008, that the law had significantly reduced biting incidents:

Reading's 1998 law required that aggressive or dangerous dogs, when outside the home, be muzzled and kept on a leash shorter than three feet long with a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds.

The law also punished violators with fines of up to $1,000 or 30 days in jail.

The law is credited with helping to reduce dog bites from 130 in 1999 to 33 in 2006. As a result, the law - or at least elements of it - were not being actively enforced, the Reading Eagle reported last year.

Salina, Kansas
Population 46,140 | View Ordinance
In the monthly city newsletter, In Touch, published in September 2006, the City of Salina reported that the pit bull ban adopted in 2005 significantly reduced pit bull biting incidents in just a 12 month period.

The number of pit bull bites depicted in the "Salina Pit Bull Bites Reported" graph shows 2002 with 13 pit bull bites, 2003 with 11 pit bull bites, 2004 with 15 pit bull bites and 2005 with only one bite. The newsletter notes that "animal bites reported have remained constant, but the severity of bites have decreased dramatically" since the enactment of the pit bull ban.

Related articles:
06/14/17: Pit Bulls Lead "Bite" Counts Across U.S. Cities and Counties
10/20/16: Montreal Pit Bull Ban, What the Vets Omitted and How the Pit Bull Lobby Operates
10/10/16: Special Report: Level 1 Trauma Center Dog Bite Studies in All U.S. Geographical...
08/31/15: Who Can Identify a Pit Bull? A Dog Owner of 'Ordinary Intelligence' Say High Courts

Peer-reviewed studies:

• Effectiveness of Breed-Specific Legislation in Decreasing the Incidence of Dog-Bite Injury Hospitalisations in People in the Canadian Province of Manitoba (2012)
• Decline in hospitalisations due to dog bite injuries in Catalonia, 1997−2008. An effect of government regulation?