'Staggering' report shows 41 Kiwis killed by family
Figures that show at least 41 New Zealanders died at the hands of family members in 2009 have been labelled "staggering" by some working to stop family violence.
The Family Violence Death Review Committee issued the figures in its annual report to Parliament. But it says the number could still get higher, as some deaths at the end of the year have not yet been included.
The figure is made up of 16 children, 13 women and 12 men – 10 deaths above the national average of 14 women, six men and 10 children killed each year.
How many are killed through dog bites?
When Dr Ian Dunbar was here, he said that the media really put dog bites out of proportion to what other harms there are in society.
There are 2000 kids in the USA killed by water (swimming pool).
And so when I read this story about family violence, we wonder why dog bites gets the coverage it gets. There may have been 1 death due to a dog eating it's owner, and that was because the owner was abusing it.
Listen to Ian himself on Radio NZ, here's the link
- Ian Dunbar: disciplining dogs
- Veterinarian, animal behavourist, dog trainer, and writer, whose research in hierarchical social behaviour and aggression in domestic dogs broke new ground. (duration: 31′24″)
5 Comments:
At 9:45 p.m.,
zip said…
How many people are killed through dog bites? Oh about 5 every 40 years. Can be twisted to feel more like 40 deaths every 5 years though. Just ask Michael Laws or Lawrence Yule. But actually today I was reading an article about one of those five fatal dog attacks, and it went from one side of the page to the other. But tucked up in the corner of that page was the smallest article of a boy in hospital, in critical condition, who was struck off his bike by a car. Now I don't know if the boy survived or not, but we know there would never have been dramatic headlines if he hadn't. I've been back in NZ for a week. Last week I read about a small kid being run over in his own drive way from a car backing out. Seems to me that would be rather preventable. But it's apparently the third time it's happened this year. Why if our politicians and media were really concerned with our welfare, would they not be focusing on preventing those things which are actually doing the killing? Not ranting on about banning certain dog breeds which may or may never kill somebody in NZ.
At 12:53 p.m.,
Unknown said…
because Brendan a kid being knocked off a bike or being run over in their own driveways are "accidents"... owning a dog which you know is aggressive and will bite anyone who comes near it or will attack other pets given the chance has been commented on in court by a judge as "keeping a loaded shotgun at your back door".Removing aggressive dogs from society should be the aim of anyone who is concerned about both pets and people?
At 5:47 p.m.,
zip said…
Well it should be but it's not. Politicians have had very little interest in targeting dangerous dogs. They would rather target certain breeds they know the public assumes are inherently dangerous. We know dogs behaviour is influenced by the environment they live in, but how many politicians have even looked at that? And secondly an accident is an accident. I don't see it makes much difference if somebody is fatally killed by dog than if they were killed in a road accident. Neither is less horrific to the families concerned, and both are usually avoidable. There has never been a fatal dog attack in NZ where the owner of the animal has purposely set his dog on somebody. So to say a fatal car accident is an "accident" but a fatal dog attack isn't makes no sense. What would your judge say to somebody who causes a fatal car crash if that person has a history of reckless driving? Because I imagine he should just refer to that person as a loaded shotgun too! And no matter what, you are still only talking about 5 fatal dog attacks in forty years compared to tens of thousands of people killed on our roads.
At 1:44 p.m.,
Unknown said…
so you are proposing banning methods of transport Brendan.. good on ya mate.
At 2:07 p.m.,
zip said…
"so you are proposing banning methods of transport Brendan.. good on ya mate."
I wrote that? Clearly I didn't. Your reading and comprehension skills are in need of a serious a tune up G.
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