Why Are Dog Attack Deaths Soaring?
Deaths by dog attack went up from 35 in 2018 to 122 in 2024.
The CDC reports that human deaths due to being bit or struck by a dog, after being fairly stable relative to the growing population from 1999-2018, started to rise in 2019. By 2024, there were 3.5 times as many dog-attack deaths as in 2018.
The increase might be related to the pandemic or to George Floyd, but it’s not as obvious as it is with homicides and traffic fatalities.
Dog ownership apparently had been growing before 2020 and increased during the pandemic.
Maybe people obtained a lot of big, scary dogs during the Mostly Peaceful Protests as home protection?
Did dog training decline in recent years?
I don’t know.
What do you think?
I think pit bulls were purchased by a lot of people with their stimmy checks and now they’re roaming around attacking people. I feel the same about pit bulls as most people feel about mosquitoes and tics.
My money is on increased ownership of pit bulls.