2019 Statistics - Pit Bulls Lead the Pack in Violence

The year 2019 saw the worsening of disturbing trends in pitbull violence which began several years ago, further condemning this type of dog. In 2019, there were 48 confirmed canine homicides (my term for fatal dog attacks upon humans). But there may have been more fatalities than that, because we await further information about seven other deaths last year. Keeping that in mind, here are the numbers and my thoughts about them:

• 48 Americans were killed by dogs. Of these, 33 were killed by pit bulls.
• 20 Americans were killed by a family dog. Of these, 10 were killed by pit bulls.
• 16 of the 48 American victims were children. Of these 16, 10 were killed by pit bulls.
• Of the 48 Americans killed by dogs, 22 were male and 26 were female.
• Looking at only the 26 female Americans killed by dogs, 16 were killed by pit bulls.

These figures establish that pit bull savagery has become worse than prior years. Dogs which fall into the pit bull category make up approximately 6% of domestic canines in the USA, but are responsible for just under 70% of canine homicides, 50% of fatal dog attacks on family members, 63% of child killings, and 62% of the dead females.

In the 1970s, the breeders of Dobermans decided to make the breed less violent by weeding out the worst of them, and those efforts were a resounding success. In contrast, pit bull promotion is unapologetic and pit bull owners have expressed no intention to make this type of animal suitable for a civilized people. The only logical solution to pit bull violence therefore is to enact laws to eliminate them.