2012/07/25 Council Agenda Packet

The Humane Society on Dog Bites: httpjJwww.ar.TT?ericanhumane.o g/animals/'stop_amnia/-abuse/fact-sheets/dog-bites.html Dog Bites Dog bite statistics • An estimated 4.7 million dog bites occur in the U.S. each year2,3 • Nearly 800,000 dog bites require medical care2 • Approximately 92% of fatal dog attacks involved male dogs, 94%of which were not neutered' • Approximately 25% of fatal dog attacks involved chained dogs/ • Approximately 71% of bites occur to the extremities (arms, legs, hands, feet)2 • Approximately two-thirds of bites occurred on or near the victim's property, and most victims knew the dog • The insurance industry pays more than $1 billion in dog-bite claims each year3 • At least 25 different breeds of dogs have been involved in the 238 dog-bite-related fatalities in the U.S.4 • Approximately 24% of human deaths involved unrestrained dogs off of their owners' property4 • Approximately 58% of human deaths involved unrestrained dogs on their owners' property4 Breed-specific legislation (BSL) • In response to these statistics, many communities have enacted breed-specific legislation (BSL)that prohibits ownership of certain breeds, such as pit bulls, Rottweilers and others. • Any breed of dog can bite, and research suggests BSL does little to protect the community from dog-bite incidents. • In fact, BSL can often have unintended consequences -- such as black-market interest and indiscriminant breeding practices -- resulting in subsequent breed overpopulation that leads to increases in the number of homeless, stray and euthanized dogs. • Enforcement of BSL has been shown to be very costly and extremely difficult to enforce. One county in Maryland spent more than $560,000 maintaining pit bulls(not including payroll, cross-agency costs and utilities), while fees generated only $35,000.5