Volume 196 - Issue 4
Dog bites in Australian children
Authors: Katina D'Onise and Ronald L Somers
Med J Aust 2012; 196 (4): 244. || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10054
Published online: 5 March 2012
Published online: 5 March 2012
To the Editor: Kimble and colleagues have implied that the main strategic intervention to reduce the risk of dog bites is the education of dogs, owners and children, which is the equivalent of claiming that the most important way to prevent road accidents is for people to drive..
To the Editor: Kimble and colleagues have implied that the main strategic intervention to reduce the risk of dog bites is the education of dogs, owners and children,1 which is the equivalent of claiming that the most important way to prevent road accidents is for people to drive more carefully. There is no good evidence that education-only approaches reduce the risk of dog bites.2
In dog control, as in road-accident control, the most promising way forward is environmental modification rather than behavioural modification.3 Desexing dogs is an environmental measure to reduce dog attacks,4 which also has a range of health and welfare benefits for dogs and their owners. There is further evidence that dogs that kill people are more likely to not have been desexed.5 Measures that encourage desexing of dogs (and responsible breeding) along with supportive education is required in Australia to reduce the risk of dog attacks. Community education is to be encouraged, but not as a sole remedy for this very addressable hazard.
Competing interests
No relevant disclosures.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge Helen Thomas, Epidemiologist, South Australian Department of Health and Ageing, for her helpful comments on the letter.
References
- Kimble RM, Dallow N, Franklin R, Wallis B. Dog bites in Australian children. Med J Aust 2011; 195: 635-636. 0_CHDEHGAC
- Duperrex O, Blackhall K, Burri M, Jeannot E. Education of children and adolescents for the prevention of dog bite injuries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2009; (2): CD004726. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004726.pub2. 0_pgfId-2485046
- Haddon W Jr. Advances in the epidemiology of injuries as a basis for public policy. Pub Health Rep 1980; 95: 411-421. 0_CBBEAIDD
- Shuler CM, DeBess EE, Lapidus JA, Hedberg K. Canine and human factors related to dog bite injuries. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008; 232: 542-546 0_CBBEFEDD
- Sacks JJ, Lockwood R, Hornreicht J, Sattin RW. Fatal dog attacks, 1989–1994. Pediatrics 1996; 97: 891-895. 0_pgfId-2485150
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