The CDC report on dog bite fatalities is frequently cited by BSL proponents as evidence for targeting specific breeds. However, there are significant problems with using this report to justify breed-specific legislation. This page outlines why the CDC report is not appropriate for policy-making decisions related to dog breeds.
What is the CDC Report?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report titled “Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1988.” This study is frequently cited in discussions about breed-specific legislation, despite the fact that the CDC itself has stated the data should not be used to inform breed-specific policies.
Although the Center for Disease Control (CDC) report lists different dog breeds involved with human fatalities for the entire United States, the statistics were from 1979 to 1988. Most experts acknowledge that these were simply bare statistics without reference to the total numbers of dogs in each breed population. The Tellings trial Court acknowledged that since these numbers were simply bare statistics without any reference to total number of dogs in each breed, the statistics had no real relevance or meaning.
Key Problems with Using the CDC Report for Policy
1. Outdated Information
The most commonly cited CDC report contains data that is now over 30 years old (1979-1988). Breed populations, ownership patterns, and public awareness of dog behavior have changed significantly since this time period.
2. No Population Context
The report provides raw numbers of fatalities without any context regarding the population sizes of different breeds. Without knowing how many dogs of each breed existed during the study period, it’s impossible to determine if any breed has a higher rate of incidents.
3. Breed Identification Issues
The study relied on media reports for breed identification, which is notoriously unreliable. Visual identification of dog breeds, especially for mixed-breed dogs, has been scientifically proven to be highly inaccurate even among animal professionals.
4. Missing Context of Incidents
The report doesn’t account for critical factors in dog bite incidents such as whether the dog was spayed/neutered, properly socialized, supervised, chained, or the victim’s relationship to the dog. These factors are significantly more predictive of dog bites than breed alone.
5. CDC’s Own Disclaimer
The CDC itself has stated that their data should not be used to inform breed-specific policies, as the data does not demonstrate that any breeds are inherently more dangerous than others.
Expert testimony was presented that the situations and reasons for any dog attacks, information which was not included in the CDC report, were much more important to the purpose of preventing future injuries than bare numbers. One expert testified that most fatal attacks on children could be attributed to lack of parental supervision rather than inherently vicious dogs.
What the CDC Actually Says
A CDC study on fatal dog bites lists the breeds involved in fatal attacks over 20 years. (Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1988.) It DOES NOT identify specific breeds that are most likely to bite or kill, and thus is not appropriate for policy making decisions related to the topic.
Americans are bitten by dogs each year.
Approximate number of fatalities from dog bites each year.
Percentage of dog bites that result in fatalities.
Currently, there is no accurate way to identify the number of dogs of a particular breed, and consequently no measure to determine which breeds are more likely to bite or kill.
What Courts Have Said
Courts that have carefully examined the CDC data and other evidence about breed-specific bite rates have frequently found the evidence lacking. In particular, the Toledo v. Tellings case provides important insight:
The trial court found persuasive studies which concluded that a dog’s breed is not predictive of dangerousness and further found that “specific breeds are not over-represented in the bite counts … [and] municipal data from across the United States do not support the assertion that pit bulls possess a unique propensity to bite.”
Better Approaches to Dog Bite Prevention
Instead of focusing on breed-specific legislation, public safety would be better served by focusing on factors that have been scientifically proven to contribute to dog bites and attacks:
- Owner responsibility and education
- Proper supervision, especially of interactions between dogs and children
- Spay/neuter programs (intact males are more likely to bite)
- Prevention of dog chaining (chained dogs are more likely to bite)
- Enforcement of existing leash laws and dangerous dog ordinances
- Education about dog behavior and bite prevention
The CDC data, when properly understood, supports the conclusion that dog bites are a complex issue that cannot be simplified to breed alone. Focusing on breed distracts from implementing evidence-based policies that would actually increase public safety.