Breed-specific legislation and the pit bull terrier: Are the laws justified?

Abstract

After more than a century as an uncontroversial dog (Jessup, 1975), the American terrier has developed a notorious reputation as a dangerous breed since 1980, with consequent restrictions placed upon it by jurisdictions in Australia and elsewhere. Studies in the United States have indicated that the pit bull is responsible for a significant number of human fatalities resulting from dog attack, but the data on which such studies are based are flawed by methodological shortcomings. Using absolute numbers of dog attacks by breed in Australia, data on attacks on human beings reveal the terrier to be exceeded by several other breeds. Regardless, the primary problem is that reliable data do not exist for the number of attacks relative to breed population. Of 19 human fatalities in Australia over the past two decades, none has involved a dog verified to be an American terrier. The evidence does not sustain the view that this is a uniquely dangerous breed, and breed-specific laws aimed to control it have not been demonstrated by authorities to be justified by its attack record.