Fatal dog bites soar by more than 200 per cent in one year, report shows
New data on hospital admissions and deaths shows deaths from dog bites have increased by more than 200 percent in one year.
Figures show 12,423 people were hospitalized due to dog bites in 2023-2024; this is an 11 percent increase over 2022-2023.
Six people died from dog bites in 2022, but that number rose to 20 in just one year, according to a report by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
The report stated that dog attacks have also increased continuously in the last seven years and reached 31,920 attacks in 2024.
Accidents involving animals are classified as accidents caused by “exposure to live mechanical forces.” Being hit, hit, kicked, twisted, bitten or scratched by another person was the second most common reason for a person to be admitted to hospital in this category, up 10 percent from the previous year, according to the data.
The report warned that injuries caused by people and animals were “an ever-growing source of preventable harm”, while also stating that dog bites could cause “serious and sometimes life-changing harm”.
“Even well-trained animals can behave unpredictably under stress, during play, or when startled, highlighting the importance of responsible ownership, careful supervision, and public awareness of safe interactions,” he added.
Separately, RoSPA found that crashes overall caused more than 23,000 deaths in 2023 and caused nearly 900,000 people to go to hospital in 2023-2024.
The charity said falls were the leading cause of accidental death, with rates rising by 12 per cent in one year and 34 per cent in two years.
Deaths from accidental poisonings also increased by 10 percent per capita in one year, with 6,238 deaths occurring in 2023, according to the report. Almost a tenth (nine percent) of accidental poisoning and substance-related deaths were alcohol-related.
The data also showed that people in the North East of England, Wales or Scotland were twice as likely to die from a crash compared to London.
Men experienced higher rates of accidental injury and death than women, and the elderly faced a “disproportionately” high number of serious injuries and deaths, especially as a result of falls.
“Accidents have a tragic impact not only on individuals, families and communities, but on society as a whole,” RoSPA said.
“The NHS’s costs for emergency treatment, excluding subsequent rehabilitation and other costs, reach £6bn a year, and accidents account for a minimum of 5.2 million bed days, reducing capacity in healthcare and increasing waiting lists.”
RoSPA president Becky Hickman added that most of the accidents identified were “entirely preventable”.
“Our Annual Accident Review shows that we are still not doing enough to reduce preventable harm, life-changing injuries and personal tragedies,” he said.
“People in the UK are at increasing risk of suffering an unacceptably serious accident, and it is those who are already vulnerable – young children, the elderly and people in poor communities – who are most at risk.
“By learning from injury patterns and acting on the evidence, we can help individuals, communities and wider society be better protected from the consequences of accidental injuries.”
