Peer Reviewed Scientific Studies
About Underlying Cause of Death, 1999-2018
A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control.
There is an average of 31 fatalities in the USA due to dog bite related fatalities (DBRF) each year. 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 Center for Disease Control (CDC) and multiple peer-reviewed studies conclude a dogs breed does not determine aggression, bite strength, or risk. This study rejects BSL.
Defaming Rover: Error-Based Latent Rhetoric in the Medical Literature on Dog Bites
A study conducted by the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.
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.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10888705.2017.1387550
Dog Bite Injuries to Humans and the Use of BSL: A Comparison of Legislated vs. Non-Legislated Dogs
A study by the Irish Veterinary Journal..
The study results did not observe evidence of any differences between legislated and non-legislated for both the medical treatment to victims required following the bite, and the type of bite inflicted. The significant differences in bites being reported to authorities, perceived triggers for biting, and biting locations suggests distinctly differing perceptions relating to risk between legislated and non-legislated dog breeds. This study rejects BSL
https://irishvetjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13620-017-0101-1
Who is Minding the Bibliography? Daisy chaining, dropped leads, and other bad behavior
A study by the Journal of Veterinary Behavior.
In some cases, indiscriminate sourcing may simply be a function of haste or a true lack of familiarity with the relevant literature. In other cases, what we refer to as “daisy chaining” appears responsible. This occurs when an author cites another author regarding a particular piece of information, but the cited author is not the primary source of that information, and was merely repeating it from what an earlier publication cited.
Human directed aggression in domestic dogs
A study by Applied Animal Behavior Science.
The study found aggression is strongly linked to an individual dogs experience and/or environment, and that aggression is not a trait that can be associated with any specific breed. "It would be inappropriate to make assumptions about an individual animal's risk of aggression to people based on characteristics such as breed." This study rejects BSL.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016815911300292X
Human hospitalizations due to dog bites in Ireland (1998-2013): Implications for current BSL
A study by the Veterinary Journal.
"Breed Specific Legislation is not effective in Ireland and serious dog bite incidents have significantly increased while breed-specific legislation has been enacted." The present legislation is not effective as a dog bite mitigation strategy in Ireland and may be contributing to a rise in hospitalizations, re: dog bites. This study rejects BSL,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S109002331500163X
Inconsistent identification of pit bull type dogs by shelter staff
A study by the Veterinary Journal.
Lack of consistency among shelter staff indicated visual identification of pit bull type dogs was unreliable. Even when observing the same dogs at the same time, shelter staff had onkl moderate agreement with breed designations. One in five dogs genetically identified with pit bull heritage breeds were missed by all shelter staff. One in three dogs lacking DNA for pit bull heritage breeds were labeled as a pit bull by at least one staff member. Lack of consistency among shelter staff indicates that visual identification of pit bull type dogs is unreliable. This study rejects BSL.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S109002331500310X