Hundreds of people were treated in Greater Manchester hospitals for injuries caused by dog attacks in the last year, new figures have revealed, with serious incidents and fatalities also on the rise across the country.

Figures from the NHS show that hospital consultants in our region performed an estimated 485 treatments on people who had been bitten or struck by a dog between April 2022 and March 2023.

The figure refers to finished consultant episodes - a term used to record a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider.

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While that was a dip from around 495 episodes the year before, it was a big increase compared to a decade earlier, with around 385 episodes in 2012/13.

It mirrors a worrying national trend of rising incidents, with terrifying dog attack videos going viral on social media, and a spate of high-profile fatalities making headlines in recent months.

You can see where recent fatal attacks took place using our interactive map:

Separate nationwide figures show that across England, there were 9,277 hospital admissions where the patient had been bitten or struck by a dog in 2022/23.

That was up from 8,819 the year before, and a record high, with the number increasing steadily since at least 1998 when figures began.

Meanwhile, a small number of people tragically die from dog attacks every year - and there has been a recent spike in fatalities.

In the last 20 years or so, the number of fatal dog bites has averaged at about three per year. However, in 2022 there were ten fatalities, and there have been eight so far this year.

Much of the recent media attention on dog attacks has focused on American bully XL dogs in particular - a variation of an American pit bull terrier and American Staffordshire terrier cross that is particularly large and powerful.

While the American bully is regarded as a specific breed in the US, it is not recognised as such by the main British dog associations, such as the Kennel Club.

Dogs suspected to be American XL bullies have been involved in several high-profile attacks, including three of the eight deaths seen this year.

In response, the government has added them to the list of banned dogs in England and Wales, under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
From 1 February next year it will be illegal to own one, unless the owner has successfully applied for it to be exempt. However, some experts are sceptical that the ban will be effective in tackling the ongoing rise in serious dog attacks.

The latest episode of The North in Numbers podcast takes a look at the data on dog attacks, with host Annie Gouk speaking to victims and experts to try and unpick what’s behind this growing problem.

Listen here:

Speaking to Annie, Professor Carri Westgarth, Chair in Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Liverpool, said: “I can see an argument for breed-specific legislation in the fact that certain breeds are more likely to cause damage if they do bite.

“However, we only seem to ban certain breeds, while others that also feature highly in fatalities seem to be left off these lists, so it’s a bit illogical in that sense.

“Banning has also been quite difficult to actually do in practice, especially when breeds like the pit bull and now the American bully are not clear, defined breeds.

"And does it work - has banning pit bulls stopped there being pit bulls in the population? No. Thirty years on from banning pit bulls we still have them and they’re still involved in serious bites.

“The majority of dog bites are also just by everyday pet dogs of all sorts of breeds, you generally see the most common breeds in the hospital admissions data.

“So just by banning a small number of breeds, the potential to have an impact on dog bites and dog attacks in general is minor.” Meanwhile, several of the UK’s biggest animal charities have called for an end to the Dangerous Dogs Act, branding it “flawed, outdated, and ineffective”.

The RSPCA, The Kennel Club, Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Blue Cross are among those calling for the act to be scrapped.

In the podcast episode, George Bloor from Dogs Trust said: “The government's plan is very, very unlikely to reduce the number of bites.

“Dogs Trust and the wider sector believe it’s highly likely that 12 months from now we’ll be having another conversation about another breed that is potentially needing to be banned, and we’ll be continuing with this cycle of dog attacks, with the public not being protected because of these knee jerk reactions.”

Bully Watch, a group that campaigned for a complete ban of the XL bully breed, were invited on the podcast to discuss their stance, but did not respond.