Dog bite rates soar as gangs train attack animals

In the last four years, NHS figures have confirmed that the number of dog bite victims ...

13:29 12 August 2012

In the last four years, NHS figures have confirmed that the number of dog bite victims treated has risen by almost a third. 

 
Many have tied this in to a theory that gangs are increasingly owning and training dogs to fight for them for both protection/assault and as a symbol of their social status. 

Of the aforementioned figures, almost three out of four dog attacks occur on private property which therefore bypasses the Dangerous Dogs Act's enforcement jurisdiction. 

 

There were almost 6,450 hospital admissions for dog bites and attacks in the year to April 2012. This is a sharp contrast compared to four years ago when it was 4,611. Also alarming is the fact that these figures only account for injuries that required a hospital bed recovery, and does not included those treated in A&E and sent home. 

 

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) stated that one in six involved a child under 10 who are most likely to suffer serious injuries and require plastic surgery. The north of England reported the most hospital admissions following dog bites, as opposed to the lower admissions in the south. 

 

Richard Milner, president of The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), told The Telegraph: "The victims are often members of the family that owns the dog.

 

"You do see people doing inadvisable things such as leaving a very dangerous dog in the same room as a baby when they go off to make a cup of coffee.

 

"Often the dogs see a child as a threat, it wants to get rid of the baby.

 

"The really terrible injuries that you get from dogs such bull terriers are still pretty rare, most of those are when the dog gets hold of an area of the body, usually an arm but it can be the face if it is close, and biting.

 

"The really bad wounds that you occasionally see are caused by the dog being very aggressive and shaking and biting again.” 

 

Number of admission for dog bite or strike injuries in England:

 

• 2007/8   - 4,611
• 2008/9   - 5,221
• 2009/10 - 5,837
• 2010/11 - 6,005
• 2011/12 - 6,581