I sure wish somebody would define terms here, because the declarations and their refutations are becoming ridiculous. What exactly does it mean when either side says “pit bull”?
Is it only a registered animal, with papers from AKC, UKC or another breed organization declaring it to belong to one or another of the “bully breeds”? If so, which ones?
Or is it an unregistered animal, from a backyard breeder or other unregistered source, having variable ancestry in any of several recognized breeds or locally produced strains, whose producers and whose owners routinely refer to it as a “pit” or “pit mix”?
Because if the standard of evidence for “pit bull attack” is to be some document from a registry, then yeah, I guess there are very few pit bull attacks and a whole lot of “misidentifications”. But I’m not willing to accept this standard.
In an awful lot of the instances argued about here, the dogs were generally known as pits or pit mixes (often with the word “mix” dropped from casual discussions) by their owners, and by the breeders who produced them. Note that they weren’t known or represented as Shepherds or Shepherd mixes, nor were they known or represented as Labs or Lab mixes, nor Corgis or Corgi mixes, etc. They were known and/or represented to be pits and/or pit mixes. This, plus visual identification by people who are presumed to have some expertise (animal control agents, shelter staff, etc.) is the source of most media claims of “a PIT BULL done it!”
Now arguably, this number is inflated. I’m willing to accept some reduction in the tally of pit bull attacks/fatalities due to actual misidentifications, including by presumed knowledgeable persons. Cites have been presented that support this. Perhaps in some instances a dog that could be viewed as a Shepherd mix, or a Retriever mix, but also by squinting and closing one eye might also sorta-kinda, in a bad light, be seen as a pit mix is so identified by the media because it fits the scary stereotype. But I am unconvinced that the misidentification issue is so huge that it, by itself, will reduce “pit bull fatalities” to a percentage of total fatalities commensurate with actual pit population percentages.
The simple fact seems to be that there are an awful lot of dogs out there, mostly unregistered and of various heritages, that were produced in a deliberate attempt to breed a “pit bull” or “pit type” home grown dog. So it should be no surprise that there are also a large number of dogs whose appearance better fits “pit bull mix” than it does any recognized breed or any other mix. And a whole lot more that arguably (and here I’m giving all the weight I’m willing to give to the ‘mis—id’ cites) appear somewhat or partly like pit mixes even if close scrutiny suggests they’re possibly not. And an awful lot of owners that, for whatever proper or improper reason, like to refer to their own dogs as pits or pit mixes, and breed to produce more of the same. At least, until something bad happens.
And these dogs are disproportionately represented in dog bite fatality cases.
ETA: just read post 674 – there is a definition, will we agree to use it?