Folks, it's not hard to find info and studies on this
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_bull#Dog_attack_risk
Yes, pit bulls are
implicated in ~45%!of dog attacks, but there are too many variables for that to be a reliable stat:
- identifying pit bull breed variations isn't easy
- not all bites can be easily attributable to a specific breed
- most of those pit bull attacks were by UNOWNED AND FREE ROAMING dogs, and many were unneutered male dogs
- Rottweilers and German shepards are also implicated as some of the most frequent biters/attackers
There was an article we used to read and discuss with our students about a city in Canada that was trying to ban the breed outright, and a study showed that one dog owner that had been in trouble for his animals biting people was just an idiot owner that didn't understand the breed:
Left unattended all day long, tied to a post in the front yard, not fed or watered regularly, etc etc.
Yes, these dogs were bred to be hunters and fighters, but that only makes it that much more important that owners are properly educated on how to care for them. It's not uncommon to see some tough guy meathead with a wife beater, using a chain link and padlock from the hardware store as a collar, and their dog isn't neutered.