Dog Fighting Crackdown
MONDAY, JULY 13, 2009 12:15 PMOfficials crack down on dogfighting by DogTime blogger Michael Martinez
Do you get the feeling that cops are really starting to crack down on dogfighting? I do.
While doing my usual search for dog-related news items, I've come across several recent stories about raids on dogfighting operations in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Arkansas. Last week, more than 400 dogs were seized and 26 people from seven states were charged in what officials said was one of the biggest dogfighting crackdowns in U.S. history.
Maybe it's the Michael Vick Effect.
I haven't seen this type of effort to combat dogfighting since Vick, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, was convicted and sentenced to 23 months in a federal prison for his role in a dogfighting operation. So if there's a silver lining to this whole Vick mess, maybe this is it.
What many people don't realize is that it's not just the dogfighting that's horrendous. It's also the type of acts associated with this activity: Some of the charges against the 26 include everything from denying medical treatment to animals to shooting them in the head when they didn't perform well in the ring, then tossing their bodies into a river or setting them on fire in a barrel. Officials said the dogfighting rings were not necessarily associated with each other and that the cases will be tried separately.
Dr. Randall Lockwood, senior behavioral psychologist for the ASPCA, told CBS News: "These are animals which are so eager to please. Yet they have been bred to fight and die for human amusement. I do see dogfighting as the greatest violation of that special bond between people and dogs."
Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri, told the New York Times that the arrests were the "largest coordinated rescue in U.S. history. This is going to send a vehement message that dogfighting will not be tolerated in a civilized society."
Under federal law, each count of dogfighting carries a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Let's hope for some stiff penalties, which might be the best way to deter others from engaging in these cruel acts.
