UK Pet Owner Investigated After Dog Kills 9-Year-Old Boy

UK Pet Owner Investigated After Dog Kills 9-Year-Old Boy
A dog running in the park. (stock photo/pixabay.com)

LONDON—A dog owner in Britain is being investigated for manslaughter after her pet mauled to death a 9-year-old boy at an English vacation park.

Police said Sunday, April 14, the woman has been released but is under investigation for manslaughter and having a dog dangerously out of control. She has not been identified or charged.

The boy was killed Saturday morning by what police said was a “bulldog-type breed.” The animal is being held at a kennel while the investigation proceeds.

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Tencreek Holiday Park is located 250 miles southwest of London on the coast. (MapData GeoBasis-DE/BKG2019/GoogleMaps)

The mauling happened at Tencreek Holiday Park, which is 250 miles southwest of London on the coast. The park said emergency services were called but the boy, named by police as Frankie Macritchie of Plymouth, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police initially said the boy was 10 but later corrected that to 9 years old.

Dog Bite Incidents in US

DogsBite.org says: “Each day, about 1,000 U.S. citizens require emergency care treatment for serious dog bite injuries. Annually, about 9,500 citizens are hospitalized due to dog bite injuries.”

In a 13-year analysis, the website said that of 433 fatal dog attacks in the United States, pit bulls contributed to 66 percent, or 284 deaths.

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Breeds of dogs involved in the most human fatalities in U.S., according to dogsbite.org. (edited images from pixabay.com)

Rottweilers, the second on the list, inflicted 10 percent of attacks that resulted in human death, the report says.

German shepherds accounted for 4.6 percent of fatal attacks.

Mixed-breed dogs accounted for 3.9 percent and the American bulldog was next at 3.5 percent, the report said.

The Mastiff and Bullmastiff accounted for 3.2 percent of deaths.

Last on the list were huskies, which accounted for 3 percent of fatal attacks.

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Chart depicts dog breeds that killed ≥13 people during the 13-year period. 33 dog breeds contributed to ≤9 deaths and are excluded from this chart. 9.5% of all fatal attacks involved multiple breeds, thus the total number of deaths attributed to each breed will always exceed the actual number of deaths.(dogsbite.org)

Victim Age Groups

The 13-year statistical report of dog attacks in United States also showed that young children under 9 years of age comprised almost half of the victims, with 0 to 2-year-olds comprising 27 percent of all deaths. The remaining 52 percent of victims were 10 years or older.

The fatality rate was highest among both very young infants and the elderly. Infants between 0 and 1 years old had the highest fatality rate, followed by age group of 50-69 years old, and older than 70 years old.

With additional reporting by NTD staff

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