BiteFile
- The National Bite Register
BiteFile was created
from a need to collect accurate data across
Australia so that informative decisions can be made on factual
information rather than media-hype and speculation on high profile
individual emotive incidents.
There are thousands
of incidents of dog bites every year, many of
which are unrecorded for statistical purposes and remain on
doctors, hospitals, veterinarians and local authority records.
BiteFile has been designed
to be easily accessed over the Web to
log details of the types and breeds of dogs, profiles of the victims,
relationship between the victims and the dogs, the environmental
circumstances and backgrounds of dog bite incidents.
The personal details
of all parties involved (ie: addresses, dog
owners and victim identifications) will not be part of the data
results
as it will have no relevance to the operation of the project these
details are only collected for data verification and integrity
and
removal of duplicate recording of incidents.
When a dog bite victim
attends a doctor's surgery or hospital or
contacts their local council authority, we are requesting that
these
organisations log the details in the BiteFile by accessing the
website and completing a short questionnaire.
The BiteFile will be
used to establish education programs that
target specific areas and groups of the community with a view
to
reduce the number of dog bite incidents. It will also provide
statistical information for all levels of government to utilize
when
considering legislative and policy changes.
