This is a list of human deaths caused by dogs, which became publicly known in the form of reports, cause of death statistics, scientific papers, or other sources. For more information on causes of death and studies related to dog bite-related fatalities, see Fatal dog attacks.
Deaths from or after dog bites are very rare, they count as preventable deaths. According to an evaluation of the number of deaths in the period from 2009 to 2025, a total of 54 deaths were recorded throughout Italy.
A 2025 study showed that the average number of fatalities increased from 1.28 to 3.18 per year, with a noticeable rise in the recent years.
Summary counts of fatalities by year
Deaths per year (1984âÂÂ2008) (2009âÂÂ2025):
- 1984: 1, 1985: 1, 1986: 0, 1987: 2, 1988: 2, 1989: 1
- 1990: 1, 1991: 1, 1992: 1, 1993: 2, 1994: 0, 1995: 0, 1996: 1, 1974: 1, 1998: 0, 1999: 2
- 2000: 1, 2001: 2, 2002: 3, 2003: 1, 2004: 1, 2005: 0, 2006: 1, 2007: 2, 2008: 3, 2009: 4
- 2010: 2, 2011: 3, 2012: 5, 2013: 3, 2014: 1, 2015: 2, 2016: 4, 2017: 3, 2018: 3, 2019: 3
- 2020: 3, 2021: 4, 2022: 2, 2023: 2, 2024: 5, 2025: 5 (6*)
<nowiki>*</nowiki>according to this list.
Fatalities
Literature
- Iarussi, Fabrizio, Francesco Sessa, Serena Piccirillo, Martina Francaviglia, Alessandra Recchia, Antonella Colella, Matteo Bolcato, Monica Salerno, Angelo Peli, and Cristoforo Pomara. 2025. "'" Animals 15, no. 24: 3523.
- Ciceroni, C.; Gostinicchi, S. Aggressivitá Canina: Indagine Epidemiologica Sulle Aggressioni ad Esito Letale in Italia Negli Anni 1984âÂÂ2009. (Aggressive dogs: epidemiological survey on fatal attacks in Italy over the years 1984âÂÂ2009) Vet. Ital. 2009, 45, 67âÂÂ72.
See also
References