That’s what I thought, the dogs were bred to fight bulls in pits. Dogs continued to do what they were bred to do, herd, retrieve, hunt, point or fight. Some dogs were bred to sit on people laps and that is what they are best at doing. Why is anyone surprised.
However, none of these 'pit bull' dogs were bred to fight bulls in pits.
Some were bred for bull baiting - including American Bulldogs and French bulldogs. That doesn't involve a pit.
Some were bred to fight other dogs in pits, such as the American Pit Bull.
The American Staffordshire Terrier is considered a 'pit bull.' At some point, bulldogs were bred to terriers. The result was the Staffordshire Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier. ASTs were NEVER, at any point during the breed's history, bred to fight bulls or to fight other dogs. From the beginning, the AST was specifically bred to be an affectionate family dog. However, it has a blocky head and a stout body, so it gets lumped in with 'pit bulls.' I am not now, nor have I ever been an American Staffie owner, but I know it's not an aggressive breed. I can't say the same for American Pit Bull Terriers.
"Pit bull' attacks rarely identify the breed; pit bull is used as a generic term based on how a dog looks, not what the dog breed is or was bred to do. I wouldn't be surprised if there were few or no purebred ASTs among the 'pit bull' deaths.
In fact, if you allocated 'pit bull' deaths among the specific 'pit bull' breeds actually involved, Rottweilers would probably be responsible for the most deaths by dog attack, or 'pit mixes.'
Another thing to consider is this is a current phenomenon, caused by backyard breeder looking for aggression and thug owners.
71% of the pit bull fatalities have occurred in the past 10 years; 42% in the past four years; 24% in the past two years.
Source: 30-Year Summary: Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to December 26, 2011 by Merritt Clifton, Animal People, 2012.
These statistics suggest it's certainly not just the breed- and even these specifics don't break out 'pit bulls' by specific breed.