Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Open Access Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 8-2016 Evaluating the prevalence and effectiveness of breed-specific legislation Felicia E. Trembath Purdue University Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations Part of the Epidemiology Commons, Law Commons, and the Veterinary Medicine Commons Recommended Citation Trembath, Felicia E., "Evaluating the prevalence and effectiveness of breed-specific legislation" (2016). Open Access Dissertations. 870. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/870 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Graduate School Form 30 Updated ¡ ¢¡£ ¢¡¤ ¥ PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation prepared By Felicia E. Trembath Entitled EVALUATING THE PREVALENCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF BREED-SPECIFIC LEGISLATION For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Is approved by the final examining committee: Alan M. Beck Chair Hsin-Yi Weng Niwako Ogata George H. Avery To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation Agreement, Publication Delay, and Certification Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32), this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy of Integrity in Research” and the use of copyright material. Approved by Major Professor(s): Alan M. Beck Approved by: Ramesh Vemulapalli 7/26/2016 Head of the Departmental Graduate Program Date EVALUATING THE PREVALENCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF BREED-SPECIFIC LEGISLATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University by Felicia E. Trembath In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2016 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation and all that I have been able to accomplish would not have been possible without the support of my committee members, advisor, and family. It has been a long process and my committee members have been willing to support and help me throughout. Without them sacrificing their evenings and weekends to review drafts and provide comments, I would not have been able to finish. I would also like to thank my unofficial committee members, Jane Yatcilla, Gretchen Stephens, ¢¢£¤ ¥¦§¡£¨¤© ¡ ¨¤ ¤ ¡ -Czerniak, who were willing to share their time and knowledge with me. Their guidance on specialty topics was invaluable to my success, and I am grateful for their generosity. I would not be where I am without the continual support of my advisor, Alan Beck. He stepped in to help me out after my second advisor left the university, and his patience has been unfailing despite the seemingly continuous setbacks that we faced! Finally, my family has sacrificed so much of their time and effort for me to be able to finish my dissertation. They have not complained despite the countless hours that I have spent researching and writing. Without all of their sacrifices, I would not have been able to dedicate the time that I needed to finish my degree, and my accomplishments are as much theirs as mine. Someday I will return the favor! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ ix I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££ ££££££££ II. BACKGROUND ££ 3 Dog Bites in the United States ........................................................................................ 3 History of Breed-specific Legislation ............................................................................... 5 Policy Development ...................................................................................................... 10 III. STANDARDIZED TERMINOLOGY ................................................................................... 13 Background .................................................................................................................... 13 Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 13 Methods ........................................................................................................................ 14 Results ........................................................................................................................... 14 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 15 IV. DISTRIBUTION OF BREED-SPECIFIC LEGISLATION IN THE USA .................................... 17 Background .................................................................................................................... 17 Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 18 Methods ........................................................................................................................ 18 Data Sources ......................................................................................................... 18 Inclusion Criteria ................................................................................................... 19 Exclusion Criteria................................................................................................... 20 Data Management ................................................................................................ 20 Classification ......................................................................................................... 21 Reviewing Ordinances ........................................................................................... 22 iv Page Results ........................................................................................................................... 23 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 34 Reviewing Odinances ............................................................................................ 34 Regulatory Actions ................................................................................................ 37 Geographic Patterns ............................................................................................. 40 Regulated Breeds .................................................................................................. 42 Unusual Ordinances .............................................................................................. 43 Legal Challenges to Breed-specific Legislation ..................................................... 44 V. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BREED-SPECIFIC LEGISLATION ....... 50 Background .................................................................................................................... 50 Breed-specific Legislation ..................................................................................... 50 Systematic Reviews ............................................................................................... 51 Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 52 Methods ........................................................................................................................ 53 Data sources .......................................................................................................... 53 Inclusion criteria.................................................................................................... 54 Exclusion criteria ................................................................................................... 54 Data extraction and synthesis ............................................................................... 54 Quality Assessment ............................................................................................... 55 Results ........................................................................................................................... 59 Search Results ....................................................................................................... 59 Quality Assessment ............................................................................................... 69 Summary of Findings............................................................................................. 73 SQ1: Does BSL reduce the number of reported dog bites? ............................. 74 SQ2: Does BSL reduce the number of dog bite injuries treated at EDs? ......... 75 SQ3: Does BSL reduce the number of DBIH?.................................................... 75 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 76 Search Process .....................................................................................................