Spanish dangerous animals act: Effect on the epidemiology of dog bites |
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| Institution: | 1. Animal Pathology Department, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain;2. Merial Laboratorios, S.A., Tarragona, Barcelona, Spain;1. Department of Community Medicine, Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore, India;2. Department of Neurovirology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India;1. Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Roslin, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom;2. RNZSPCA, 3047 Great North Road, New Lynn, Auckland 0610, New Zealand;3. SRUC, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Group, Edinburgh, United Kingdom;4. SRUC, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Group, Edinburgh, United Kingdom;1. Institute of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Wien, Austria;2. Specialist Unit for Animal Husbandry and Animal Welfare, Wien, Austria;3. Canis sapiens - gewaltfreies Hundetraining, Wien, Austria;4. Division of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Department for Companion Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Wien, Austria;1. Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine-Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, Philadelphia;2. Reisner Veterinary Behavior & Consulting Services, Media, Philadelphia;1. Center for Animals and Public Policy, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts;2. The National Canine Research Council, Amenia, New York;1. Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia;2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey;3. Pethealth, Fairfield, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
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| Abstract: | The effectiveness and suitability of legislation regarding the issue of dangerous dogs, especially those targeting so-called “dangerous breeds” (DB), have been the object of a lot of criticism. However, the shortage of scientific studies in this field makes an objective assessment of the impact of current legislation difficult. In the present study, dog bite-related incidents from Aragón (Spain) were analyzed for a 10-year periods (1995 to 2004). With the aim of assessing the impact of the Spanish Dangerous Animals Act on the epidemiology of dog bites, data from the non-legislated (1995 to 1999) and the legislated period (2000 to 2004) were compared in 2 different areas (low- and high-populated areas). According to the results, the population density did exert a significant effect on the incidence of dog bites, whereas the legislation in force did not. Popular breeds such as the German shepherd and crossbreed dogs accounted for the great majority of the incidents during the 2 periods of study. Specifically, the German shepherd proved to be over-represented significantly among the canine population. Dogs in the dangerous breeds list, on the other hand, were involved in a small proportion of the incidents both before and after the introduction of legislation. The present results suggest that the implementation of the Spanish legislation exerted little impact on the epidemiology of dog bites. Besides the scarce effectiveness, the results suggest that the criteria to regulate only so-called DB were unsuitable and unjustified. It is hoped that this study will be helpful in the elaboration of future regulation measures in this matter. |
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