FDA CVM rankings
Which breeds carry the highest share of fatal-outcome reports?
Among breeds with at least 50 adverse-event reports, this ranks the proportion of each breed's reports that recorded a death, a reporting statistic shaped heavily by sample size and reporting bias, not a measure of real-world risk.
- 274
- breeds qualify (50+ reports)
- 99.0%
- top rate - Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)
- Top 100
- shown below
- 50+
- reports required to rank
Data updated June 2026
The verdict
Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) (Fish) shows the highest death-coded share at 99.0% - but with only 97 reports, a few outcomes move the figure sharply.
- 99.0%
- Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) - highest share
- 97
- reports behind that figure
- 50
- minimum reports to qualify
A death outcome is far more likely to be reported than a mild reaction, so high shares often reflect what got documented rather than true mortality. Read each breed page for full context.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine, more than 1,048,915 animal-drug adverse-event reports across 506 breeds had been filed as of the March 2026 data release, drawn from the openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Event database. This ranking orders breeds by their death-coded share, the proportion of a breed's reports in which the recorded outcome was death, among breeds with at least 50 reports. See our methodology for how each figure is computed and refreshed.
How to read this: Death-coded share is the percentage of a breed's adverse-event reports where the recorded outcome was death. It does not mean a drug caused the death, and it is not the breed's overall mortality rate. The 50-report minimum keeps tiny samples from dominating, but the smallest qualifying breeds still swing widely.
Top 12 breeds by death-coded report share
FDA CVM Animal Adverse Event database, breeds with 50+ reports
| # | Breed | Species | Death-coded share | Deaths | Reports | Avg Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) | Fish | 99.0% | 96 | 97 | 0.7 yr |
| 2 | Turkey (unknown) | Turkey | 71.3% | 171 | 240 | 0.1 yr |
| 3 | Chicken (other) | Chicken | 69.5% | 91 | 131 | 0.2 yr |
| 4 | Boer | Goat | 61.3% | 38 | 62 | 1.5 yr |
| 5 | Chicken (unknown) | Chicken | 58.0% | 244 | 421 | 0.2 yr |
| 6 | Pig (unknown) | Pig | 51.6% | 248 | 481 | 0.7 yr |
| 7 | Red Angus | Cattle | 51.5% | 52 | 101 | 1.0 yr |
| 8 | Sheep (unknown) | Sheep | 51.2% | 130 | 254 | 0.9 yr |
| 9 | Crossbred Bovine/Cattle | Cattle | 49.7% | 674 | 1,357 | 1.1 yr |
| 10 | Cattle (other) | Cattle | 48.8% | 1,462 | 2,996 | 1.2 yr |
| 11 | Mixed (Cattle) | Cattle | 47.4% | 1,224 | 2,581 | 1.1 yr |
| 12 | Crossbred Porcine/Pig | Pig | 44.0% | 162 | 368 | 0.3 yr |
| 13 | Brangus | Cattle | 43.1% | 28 | 65 | 1.9 yr |
| 14 | Cattle (unspecified) | Cattle | 40.6% | 41 | 101 | 1.3 yr |
| 15 | Simmental | Cattle | 39.8% | 37 | 93 | 1.4 yr |
| 16 | Holstein-Friesian also known as Holstein | Cattle | 38.9% | 1,207 | 3,106 | 1.7 yr |
| 17 | Cattle (unknown) | Cattle | 38.5% | 934 | 2,424 | 1.2 yr |
| 18 | Jersey | Cattle | 37.8% | 123 | 325 | 1.7 yr |
| 19 | Rabbit (other) | Rabbit | 37.3% | 19 | 51 | 3.5 yr |
| 20 | Charolais | Cattle | 37.0% | 47 | 127 | 1.6 yr |
| 21 | Goat (unknown) | Goat | 36.5% | 80 | 219 | 1.2 yr |
| 22 | Aberdeen Angus | Cattle | 34.8% | 561 | 1,610 | 1.3 yr |
| 23 | Rabbit (unknown) | Rabbit | 31.2% | 44 | 141 | 3.6 yr |
| 24 | Hereford cattle | Cattle | 31.0% | 45 | 145 | 1.3 yr |
| 25 | Saddlebred - American | Horse | 16.1% | 15 | 93 | 14.7 yr |
| 26 | Miniature | Horse | 15.7% | 25 | 159 | 11.9 yr |
| 27 | Mixed (Horse) | Horse | 15.5% | 16 | 103 | 6.3 yr |
| 28 | Sphynx | Cat | 14.8% | 25 | 169 | 4.8 yr |
| 29 | Standardbred (unspecified) | Horse | 13.8% | 19 | 138 | 8.9 yr |
| 30 | Paint | Horse | 13.6% | 51 | 375 | 14.2 yr |
| 31 | Domestic (unspecified) | Cat | 13.4% | 1,012 | 7,559 | 6.5 yr |
| 32 | Rex - Devon | Cat | 13.3% | 11 | 83 | 7.4 yr |
| 33 | Tonkinese | Cat | 12.7% | 14 | 110 | 9.6 yr |
| 34 | Pony (unspecified) | Horse | 12.4% | 18 | 145 | 18.5 yr |
| 35 | Tennessee Walking Horse | Horse | 12.3% | 22 | 179 | 15.0 yr |
| 36 | Percheron | Horse | 12.0% | 6 | 50 | 15.4 yr |
| 37 | European | Cat | 12.0% | 6 | 50 | 5.3 yr |
| 38 | Mastiff (unspecified) | Dog | 11.8% | 52 | 441 | 5.5 yr |
| 39 | Quarter Horse | Horse | 11.4% | 273 | 2,403 | 12.7 yr |
| 40 | Manx | Cat | 11.4% | 31 | 273 | 7.2 yr |
| 41 | Collie - Smooth-haired | Dog | 11.2% | 17 | 152 | 6.5 yr |
| 42 | Burmese | Cat | 11.0% | 17 | 155 | 8.8 yr |
| 43 | Himalayan | Cat | 10.8% | 67 | 621 | 8.6 yr |
| 44 | Mixed (Cat) | Cat | 10.7% | 30 | 280 | 4.9 yr |
| 45 | Morgan | Horse | 10.5% | 15 | 143 | 16.6 yr |
| 46 | Mustang | Horse | 10.4% | 7 | 67 | 13.1 yr |
| 47 | Horse (other) | Horse | 10.3% | 29 | 281 | 11.6 yr |
| 48 | Appaloosa | Horse | 10.1% | 16 | 159 | 16.0 yr |
| 49 | Horse (unknown) | Horse | 10.0% | 229 | 2,290 | 13.8 yr |
| 50 | Arab | Horse | 10.0% | 45 | 451 | 17.0 yr |
| 51 | Domestic ferret (Pet ferret) | Ferret | 9.9% | 15 | 152 | 4.8 yr |
| 52 | Abyssinian cat | Cat | 9.8% | 19 | 193 | 7.5 yr |
| 53 | Cat (other) | Cat | 9.7% | 448 | 4,619 | 7.5 yr |
| 54 | Persian | Cat | 9.6% | 112 | 1,162 | 7.2 yr |
| 55 | Cat (unknown) | Cat | 9.3% | 1,163 | 12,555 | 6.8 yr |
| 56 | Scottish Fold Shorthair | Cat | 9.1% | 5 | 55 | 5.2 yr |
| 57 | Sheepdog - Old English (Bobtail) | Dog | 9.0% | 11 | 122 | 5.7 yr |
| 58 | Ragdoll | Cat | 9.0% | 88 | 982 | 6.6 yr |
| 59 | Pointer - English Pointer | Dog | 8.9% | 16 | 179 | 5.5 yr |
| 60 | Dog (unknown) | Dog | 8.7% | 4,140 | 47,381 | 5.8 yr |
| 61 | Hound - Afghan | Dog | 8.7% | 11 | 126 | 5.8 yr |
| 62 | Bombay | Cat | 8.7% | 9 | 104 | 7.5 yr |
| 63 | Bulldog - English | Dog | 8.7% | 79 | 913 | 6.0 yr |
| 64 | Siamese | Cat | 8.3% | 244 | 2,946 | 7.4 yr |
| 65 | Thoroughbred | Horse | 8.2% | 97 | 1,177 | 11.9 yr |
| 66 | Dachshund - Standard Smooth-haired | Dog | 8.2% | 51 | 621 | 8.8 yr |
| 67 | Pointing Dog - Italian Wire-haired | Dog | 8.2% | 5 | 61 | 4.6 yr |
| 68 | Rottweiler | Dog | 8.1% | 521 | 6,412 | 4.5 yr |
| 69 | Terrier - Bedlington | Dog | 7.9% | 5 | 63 | 7.0 yr |
| 70 | Friesian | Horse | 7.8% | 4 | 51 | 12.1 yr |
| 71 | Saint Bernard Dog | Dog | 7.8% | 98 | 1,253 | 4.4 yr |
| 72 | Domestic Mediumhair | Cat | 7.6% | 460 | 6,057 | 6.7 yr |
| 73 | Shar Pei | Dog | 7.6% | 95 | 1,258 | 5.5 yr |
| 74 | American Shorthair | Cat | 7.5% | 31 | 411 | 7.1 yr |
| 75 | Mastiff - Neapolitan | Dog | 7.5% | 5 | 67 | 3.6 yr |
| 76 | Maine Coon | Cat | 7.4% | 170 | 2,283 | 7.1 yr |
| 77 | Snowshoe | Cat | 7.4% | 8 | 108 | 7.6 yr |
| 78 | Hairless Dog - Mexican | Dog | 7.3% | 4 | 55 | 5.2 yr |
| 79 | Carolina Dog | Dog | 7.2% | 5 | 69 | 5.7 yr |
| 80 | Domestic Shorthair | Cat | 7.2% | 4,445 | 61,410 | 7.0 yr |
| 81 | Irish Wolfhound | Dog | 7.2% | 20 | 277 | 3.9 yr |
| 82 | Newfoundland | Dog | 7.2% | 91 | 1,261 | 4.8 yr |
| 83 | Russian | Cat | 7.2% | 42 | 585 | 7.7 yr |
| 84 | Spaniel - American Water | Dog | 7.1% | 4 | 56 | 5.7 yr |
| 85 | Warmblood (unspecified) | Horse | 7.1% | 36 | 510 | 12.8 yr |
| 86 | Terrier - Kerry Blue | Dog | 7.0% | 5 | 71 | 6.1 yr |
| 87 | Crossbred Equine/horse | Horse | 7.0% | 13 | 185 | 14.3 yr |
| 88 | Cattle Dog - Flanders (Bouvier) | Dog | 7.0% | 20 | 287 | 5.0 yr |
| 89 | Spitz - Dutch (Keeshond) | Dog | 6.9% | 23 | 331 | 6.7 yr |
| 90 | Domestic Longhair | Cat | 6.9% | 630 | 9,078 | 7.5 yr |
| 91 | Collie - Bearded | Dog | 6.9% | 12 | 173 | 8.0 yr |
| 92 | American Pit Bull Terrier | Dog | 6.9% | 91 | 1,326 | 5.5 yr |
| 93 | Shepherd Dog - Belgian Tervueren | Dog | 6.7% | 8 | 119 | 5.9 yr |
| 94 | Sheepdog - Shetland | Dog | 6.6% | 271 | 4,080 | 6.8 yr |
| 95 | Chow Chow | Dog | 6.4% | 130 | 2,029 | 7.4 yr |
| 96 | Crossbred Feline/cat | Cat | 6.4% | 35 | 548 | 6.7 yr |
| 97 | Dogue de Bordeaux | Dog | 6.4% | 9 | 141 | 3.9 yr |
| 98 | Bullmastiff | Dog | 6.2% | 33 | 529 | 3.8 yr |
| 99 | Mastiff | Dog | 6.2% | 182 | 2,952 | 3.4 yr |
| 100 | Deutsche Dogge, Great Dane | Dog | 6.0% | 255 | 4,227 | 3.5 yr |