Generations of breeding are to blame
visiting a friend’s house in the Welsh town of Caerphilly, ten-year-old Jack Lis was fatally attacked by a dog called Beast. It mauled him so severely that Jack’s mother could identify her son’s body only from his shoe.
According to British government statistics, such fatal attacks are on the rise. After decades with an average annual dog-attack fatality rate below three, the number rose to six in 2022 and 16 in 2023 . Bully Watch, a group set up in June 2023 to gather evidence on the problem, attributes most deaths since that of Jack Lis to attacks by suspected Extra Large or ‘These dogs look like pit-bulls, but are two to three times their size.
The victims are mostly adults, attacked suddenly and often without provocation. Only a small number of injuries are fatal, but many are life-changing. In 2023, the dogs were responsible for 44% of dog attacks on people. They estimate the breed is 270 times more deadly than all other dog breeds combined.
Their ancestry helps explain their aggression. Pit-bull terriers were bred to win dog fights, contests which begin with two animals and end with one. Though illegal in Britain since 1835 and in America since 1976, the fights’ popularity as a forum for betting means many continue underground. With money to be made by breeding the best fighters, handlers selected those with tenacity and “gameness”—the ability to keep fighting despite serious injuries.
Britain has restricted four breeds of fighting dog since the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991, but it was not until the end of 2023 thatBullies were banned. Those that are unregistered will now be destroyed. But existing registered dogs can be kept if they wear a muzzle and lead in public. That is positive, but still leaves owners at risk.: According to Bully Watch, three professional handlers have been killed since 2021.
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