National Pit Bull Victim Awareness advocates for more than 70 organizations and social media groups in the United States and Canada, including memorial and support pages for victims of pit bull attacks, breed-specific legislation, and non-profit organizations. View Partners and Friends.
NEWS REPORTS OF PIT BULL ATTACKS 2018 – click to view
NEWS REPORTS OF PIT BULL ATTACKS 2017 – click to view
NEWS REPORTS OF PIT BULL ATTACKS 2016 – click to view
Myth: Pit Bulls are Not Aggressive
What’s wrong with pit bulls?
- There are more than 25 media reports of pit bull attacks on people per week, and one death every 13 days.
- By comparison, there are approximately 15 shark attacks on people per year in the United States, with one death every two years.
- Pit bull attacks are rarely “dog bites”. Most attacks require hospitalization.
- Although they represent only 4.5% of dogs in America, pit bulls killed 64.4% of 360 Americans who died as a result of a dog bite injury between 2005-2015, compared to Rottweilers at 11.4% and German Shepherds at 3.6%.
- Pit bull attacks have increased 830% in seven years in the US and Canada.
- In addition to attacks on people, pit bulls killed 24,000 other dogs and 13,000 cats in the US in 2015, or 66 dogs per day.
- Join us in finding solutions to the crisis.
But aren’t I helping if I adopt a pit bull?
- No. Shelters are desperate to re-home pit bulls. There are so many surplus pit bulls, they are often given away free.
- More than 1 million pit bulls are euthanized every year, but more than 1 million more are abandoned.
- Every adopted pit bull is immediately replaced by another one.
- The adoption failure rate for pit bulls 1 year or older is about 50% per year — about 10 times higher than the failure rate for all other breed types combined.
Why are pit bulls so popular if they are dangerous?
- Pit bulls are not more popular than other dogs, but they represent up to 80% of abandoned and stray dogs in shelters at any given time.
- Advocacy for pit bulls is extremely disproportionate to the actual numbers of pit bulls. There are 78 million dogs in the US, and only 3.5 million or 4.5% of them are pit bulls.
- Virtually all members of the pit bull industry profit financially from promoting pit bulls.
- Millions of dollars are spent on pit bull propaganda to convince people they are safe family pets.
What about adopting from shelters and rescue groups?
- There is no way to track the history of abandoned and stray pit bulls.
- Shelters and rescue groups cannot guarantee your safety and you will likely sign a liability waiver relieving them of any responsibility.
- The pit bulls in your shelter may not be local. Thousands of pit bulls with unknown backgrounds are transported daily between shelters in the United States.
- Thousands of pit bulls with unknown backgrounds are imported into Canada from U.S. shelters.
- At least 37 dogs in custody of shelters or rescues, or rehomed by shelters or rescues, killed or disfigured someone in 2014.
- In order to promote sales and adoptions, many shelters hide the breed of pit bull type dogs, rename them as other breeds or call them “mixed breed”. There is no guarantee you are not adopting a pit bull.
What makes pit bulls more dangerous than other dogs?
- People who own pit bulls are not necessarily capable of training them or stopping an attack.
- Pit bulls consistently bite people at least twice as much and up to 10 times as much as any other type of dog.
- Pit bull attacks are one of the biggest public safety issues in America today. In the last 3 months of 2015, pit bulls killed more people than Dobermans killed in 60 years.
- More than 1 in 40 pit bulls killed or seriously injured another animal in 2013-2014. By comparison, only 1 dog in 50,000 of all other breed types combined killed or seriously injured another animal.
- Pit bulls are zero-error dogs. There is zero room for mistakes like gates, doors or windows left open or unlocked; for leashes, chains and muzzles breaking or coming loose; or for people not strong enough or experienced enough to prevent attacks.
- Check your state for information on pit bull attacks in your area.
What does National Pit Bull Victim Awareness want?
- We want the public to be aware of the excessive numbers of pit bull attacks.
- We want taxpayers to understand the cost of subsidizing pit bull breeding, the cost of pit bull attacks, and the economic issues of up-to-80% pit bulls in taxpayer-funded shelters.
- We want the media to put victims first.
- We want the media to report the emotional impact of pit bull attacks on families and communities.
- We want mandatory spay/neutering for pit bulls to reduce their numbers.
- We want pit bull owners to have sufficient liability insurance to cover the medical costs of victims. In most cases, victims are left to pay the cost of life-flights, ambulances, emergency hospital treatments, and numerous surgeries for years to come. A victim’s first night in care can easily reach $20,000. For animals, the average vet bill after a pit bull attack is $7,000.
What can I do to help?
- Report all pit bull bites and attacks to your local Animal Control, media and city council.
- Sign up for news and initiatives from Animals 24-7, Dogsbite.org and Daxton’s Friends.
- Donate to organizations working on the pit bull crisis, including Animals 24/7, Dogsbite.org, Daxton’s Friends, National Pit Bull Victim Awareness and PETA.
- Donate to victims of pit bull attacks. See AVOCA for victims requiring medical funds and memorial funds.
- Learn what breed-specific legislation (BSL) means and advocate for BSL measures in your area.
- Support PETA in their mission for mandatory spay/neuter laws for pit bulls. Breed-specific laws prevent more pit bulls from being born into a world of exploitation, abandonment and abuse.
- Print our information sheets and distribute them.
- Visit our Partners and Friends page for links to more information about victim advocates, breed-specific legislation (BSL), the pit bull shelter crisis, and the urgent need for competent ownership and breed-specific spay/neutering.
