Majority of dog attacks are triggered from a fear-based situation.

This is the assertion by the Pitbull Federation of South Africa’s Bronwen Oeschger. She was speaking as another child has fallen victim to a pitbull attack, this time in the Eastern Cape.

Oeschger says that if pitbulls feel threatened, or vulnerable they’ll be more prone to attack. She adds that too many dog owners don’t know how to read dog behaviour and owners need to understand that they have a potentially controversial dog breed so that taking responsibility for them becomes easier.

More than 100 000 South Africans have signed a petition demanding pitbull terriers be banned in the country. The online petition may be signed here.