What is dog fighting

Dog fighting is outlawed in all fifty states, and is a felony in forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The laws, once ignored by both criminals and law enforcement agents alike, are finally beginning to be enforced. Many communities are aggressively targeting dog fighting by coordinating local and regional dog fighting task forces, implementing public service campaigns and promoting community outreach and education.

The task forces are cooperative policing efforts that utilize various government and non-government agencies and community based organizations. Many police departments are developing specially trained units to lead the task forces. Generally, public service campaigns are implemented to educate the community about the gravity and scope of dog fighting as well as to disseminate contact information for reporting the crimes and to encourage community participation in the eradication of dog fighting.

From an institutional perspective, the combined efforts to eradicate the culture of dogfighting are significant, and success is inevitable. However, society is merely beginning to confront the violent culture of dog fighting. Despite weekly reports of dog fighting raids and prosecutions from around the country, countless dog fights continue to occur every night and go unnoticed, unreported, uninvestigated or unprosecuted.

It will take years, perhaps decades for the current efforts to eradicate dog-fighting to have any tangible impact in the communities that are most afflicted. In the mean time, the legal, political, and law enforcement communities have the formidable task of preventing another generation from being indoctrinated into the violent underworld of dog fighting.

Dog fighting is an insidious underground organized crime that has reached epidemic proportions in America. Although is now completely outlawed in the United States and in many other countries, it was once completely legal and was sanctioned by aristocracy, embraced by medieval gentry and promoted by colonial and Victorian ruffians.

By the twentieth century, the brutality inherent in dog-fighting was no longer tolerated by American society, and one-by-one, individual states began to pass laws banning it. Once outlawed, the culture of dogfighting was pushed underground, where it, like many other criminal sub-cultures and social diseases, continues to flourish. Summary: This overview provides a description of outward signs that a dogfighting operation may be occurring.

These include injuries to dogs, associated paraphernalia, and other signs. The paper also describe changes occurring in dogfighting laws to address challenges faced by communities. HSI catalyzes legislative reform and assists law enforcement in countries where dogfighting is prevalent by providing investigative expertise and training on how to penetrate the secret world of dogfighting and bring dogfighters to justice.

We also support and train local animal groups in building successful government partnerships to care for and rehabilitate animals rescued in raids. When Chepe became ill and old and was no longer deemed useful, he was abandoned in a field to die. People wager big money on the outcome, but the dogs never win. What is dogfighting? Dogfighting Jay Kim. Take Action You can help Join the fight against dogfighting. They are willing participants who support a criminal activity through their paid admission and attendance.

Thankfully, many states have realized that felony charges for spectators can help crack down on dogfighting, but more legislation is still needed. Learn how to spot the signs of dogfighting.

If you suspect dogfighting activity, alert your local law enforcement agency and urge officials to contact the HSUS for practical tools, advice and assistance. If you live in one of the states where being a spectator at a dogfight is still a misdemeanor, please write to your state legislators and urge them to make it a felony. Take Action. Dogfighting fact sheet. Michelle Riley. The HSUS. For professional and hobbyist dogfighters, the sale of pups from parents who have won several fights is a major part of their activity.

Underground dogfighting publications and websites are commonly used to advertise pups or the availability of breeding stock. This does not mean that the pit bull is unsuitable as a family pet. It is important to remember that any dog can behave aggressively, depending on the context, his genetic background and his upbringing and environment.

Dogs used for fighting must be kept isolated from other dogs, so they spend most of their lives on short, heavy chains, often just out of reach of other dogs. They are usually unsocialized to other dogs and to most people.

However, many professional fighters invest much time and money in conditioning their animals. They are often given quality nutrition and basic veterinary care. The dogs are exercised under controlled conditions, such as on a treadmill. The conditioning of dogfighting victims may also make use of a variety of legal and illegal drugs, including anabolic steroids to enhance muscle mass and encourage aggressiveness. Dogfighting victims used by all types of fighters may have their ears cropped and tails docked close to their bodies.

Fights can take place in a variety of locations and at any time. They may be impromptu street fights in a back alley, or carefully planned and staged enterprises in a location specifically designed and maintained for the purpose.