2 Killed by Pit Bulls in 2 Days: Breed-Specific Bans

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Two people, including a 4-year-old child, died in pit bull maulings in Michigan a day apart last week, just as state legislators are considering taking away local jurisdictions authority to target pit bulls and other specific dogs in animal control ordinances.

Xavier Strickland, was walking with his mother on Dec. 2 when an unlicensed pit bull and three other dogs ripped the boy from her grasp and pulled him under the fence, where they mauled him to death. A day later, Rebecca Hardy, 22, of Port Huron was killed by a pit bull and another dog, believed to be a Husky, after she climbed over a fence into a yard where they were penned.

Related

• ‘They Got My Baby’: Pit Bulls Maul Boy, 4, to Death
• Owner of Pit Bulls in Fatal Mauling of Boy, 4, Arrested

Michigan is among several states reassessing pit bulls, which have a reputation as one of the world’s deadliest dogs. Nineteen states have already banned breed-specific ordinances, and bills are pending in seven states.

Proposed legislation, which passed the Senate this fall, has the support of animal advocacy groups, which have said the breed specific ordinances are discriminatory.

However, DogsBite.com founder Colleen Lynn told the newspaper 27 of the 32 fatal dog attacks in the United States this year involved pit pulls. Her Texas-based nonprofit organization advocates for breed bans.

“I don’t know how you can defend them, given the piles of legal documentation and medical studies about these dogs,” Lynn said. “It’s been proven again and again this dog breed is more dangerous than other breeds.”

A peer-reviewed paper by the American Veterinary Medical Association disputes that pit bulls are “disproportionately dangerous” and argues “there is no evidence that breed-specific bans reduce the rate or severity of bite injuries.” According to the researchers, the number of pit bull attacks is proportionate with their popularity.

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