“About Underlying Cause of Death, 1999-2018“. There is an average of 31 fatalities in the U.S. due to dog bite related fatalities (DBRF). Scientific studies determined most common causes of fatal dog attacks are preventable factors related to irresponsible ownership, abuse and/or neglect. Contrary to unreliable information about breed-specific risk, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and multiple peer-reviewed studies concluded a dog’s breed does not determine aggression, bite strength, or risk. This study rejects BSL based on Dog Bite Related Fatalities. https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/saved/D76/D75F999
“Animal control measures and their relationship to the reported incidence of dog bites in urban Canadian municipalities‘ 2013. Study assessed differences in dog bite-related incidents between Canadian municipalities with and without Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). The data provided no evidence of lower dog bite incidence in municipalities with breed-specific legislation. This study rejects BSL based on legislative effectiveness. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3552590/
“Bite Forces and Their Measurement in Dogs and Cats” 2018. Debunking myths. A dog’s physical characteristics related to size and weight are the primary factors that affect its bite force, breed was not an identified factor affecting bite force. This study rejects BSL based on general misconceptions of bite strength in certain breeds or types of dogs. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5932386/
“Breed-specific legislation and the pit bull terrier: Are the laws justified?” 2006. The APBT is well down the lists of absolute number of attacks by breed, and the case that it is an especially dangerous dog is not established. It is questionable whether laws to extirpate a breed can be justified. This study rejects BSL based on amount of dog bites, breed misidentification and DNA. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787806000128
“Co-occurrence of potentially preventable factors in 256 dog bite-related fatalities in the United States (2000-2009)“. Most Dog Bite Related Fatalities were characterized by coincident, preventable factors; breed was not one of these. Study results supported previous recommendations for multifactorial approaches, instead of single-factor solutions such as breed-specific legislation. This study rejects BSL based on breed risk. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24299544/
“Cranial dimensions and forces of biting in the domestic dog” 2009. Debunking myths. A dog’s overall size is the primary significant factor that affects its bite force. Breed was not an identified factor affecting bite force. Study concluded: “Force of biting in domestic canids is strongly related to size”. This study rejects BSL based on misinformation on a breeds bite strength. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2673787/
“Defaming Rover: Error-Based Latent Rhetoric in the Medical Literature on Dog Bites” 2017. In many medical studies analyzed, there were: “clear-cut factual errors, misinterpretations, omissions, emotionally loaded language, and exaggerations based on misunderstood or inaccurate statistics. In many of the medical studies analyzed, a due-diligence effort was not performed to accurately and/or scientifically identify the breed(s) involved in the bite incidents. This study rejects BSL based and on inadequate breed information and misidentification. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10888705.2017.1387550
“Dog bite injuries to humans and the use of breed-specific legislation: a comparison of bites from legislated and non-legislated dog breeds” 2017. “There is no difference (in the medical treatment required following a bite or in the type of bite inflicted) between dog bites by breeds stereotyped as dangerous”. This study rejects BSL based on perceived bite severity on breed of dog. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5521144/