Number of dog attack victims needing treatment soars in England

The number of dog attack victims having surgery has hit a 15-year high, new research reveals.

NHS figures show doctors carried out 3,272 reconstructive operations last year – 419 of them on children aged four and under.

Total admissions for dog bites, which included injuries not needing surgery, also rose. It meant hospitals in England dealt with 8,819 cases in 2021-22, up 18% on the year before.

Dr Candy d’Sa, an animal behaviour consultant, told The Daily Mail the figures reflected the four million increase in the dog population.

Meanwhile, surgeons at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool say under-5s are at the highest risk of dying in dog attacks, as two-thirds of children are attacked on the face or neck as they are usually level in height with a dog’s mouth.

In addition, the surgeons reveal that 87% of Alder Hey’s canine bite patients in 2020 knew the dog that attacked them and nearly 60% were mauled by the family pet.

Richard Wain, consultant plastic surgeon at Royal Preston Hospital, told the Mirror: “We are seeing more and more dog bites. The severity is not necessarily getting worse, but the vast majority are in children, usually on their face, limbs or hands.

“We’ve had cases over the past couple of years where patients have had parts of their face removed, eyes chewed out, arms broken, fingers taken off. We have had some really severe injuries.”