4-Year-Old Feeds Pit Bulls, Twitterverse Outraged

A video of a 4-year-old girl feeding a hungry pack of pit bulls has surfaced and is quickly going viral. It has also left millions of viewers stunned with many slamming the child’s parents for allowing a young child to be in the presence of one of the world’s most aggressive and dangerous dog breeds.

In the roughly two-minute video, a young girl can be seen in a kitchen with a pack of six adult male pit bulls. A woman filming the feeding, who also appears to be the child’s mother, instructs the girl on what to do. The child then spreads kibble over the floor while instructing the pit bulls to stay put. After issuing a countdown, the girl gives the dogs the green light, in which the canines go into a feeding frenzy. The woman filming then gloats over the child successfully issuing commands to the pack of hungry dogs.

Despite being uploaded on Jan. 7, the video of a 4-year-old feeding grown pit bulls has quickly went viral with over 4 million views. Twitter has also erupted with many condemning the child’s parents for what they believe to be a blatant act of child endangerment. Many have lambasted the parents using strong words and sentiments. Others, though, were supportive with some even calling the video cute. That crowd emphasized that pit bulls are wrongly vilified and are no more dangerous than any other large breed provided that they are properly socialized.

The video has also stirred debate whether pit bulls are inherently dangerous even if trained from a young age.

Here are some disturbing statistics regarding the highly controversial yet popular canine breed:

• Pit bulls account for only 6% of the total US dog population but account for roughly 68% of dog attacks on people.

• From the years 1978 to 1998, pit bulls have accounted for more human fatalities than any other breed.

• Two people are maimed in a pit bull attack every day.

• One person is killed by a pit bull every 14 days.

• Pit bulls account for 386,000 emergency room visits each year.

Due to their reputation, several cities have even passed legislation making pet ownership of pit bulls illegal.

Of course, this isn’t to demonize an entire breed but simply to state that pit bulls have – to some degree – lived up to their reputation as a ferocious canine with aggressive instincts.

As for the 4-year-old girl feeding the pit bulls, the child did not appear to be in danger, though the concerns are definitely understandable. So what do you think? Did the girl’s parents put their child at risk or is Twitterverse overreacting?

[photo credit: Wendy]

4-Year-Old Feeds Pit Bulls, Twitterverse Outraged