Release The Dogs: Creating A Social Remedy to the Dog Fighting Epidemic
Amanda M. Searle
Spring 2008

Part III - State Law Comparison: California and Nevada

a. How States Categorize the Actors in a Dog Fight

While all states ban dog fighting, not all states make it a felony.55 However, there is some consistency across the states. All states use three categories of participants in order to determine their laws.56 The categories depend largely on the intent of the participant, their role in the “blood sport” as an active participant or bystander, and the extent to which individuals possess dogs for fighting and other paraphernalia indicative of organizing a dog fight.

The actors in a dog fight are broken down as follows. Actual fighters of the dogs comprise the first category.57 Actual fighters are the individuals who actively engage in the dog fight and are charged with dog fighting. Individuals are typically only charged with this offense when a police raid busts a dog fight in progress and the police can then determine the active participants.58 Although most make it a felony, Wyoming and Idaho still categorize organized canine combat as a misdemeanor crime.59 The second category is individuals who are in possession of dogs for fighting. The definition of possession varies from state to state.60 43 states categorize possession as a felony, four consider it a misdemeanor.61 Possession of fighting dogs is legal in Georgia, Idaho, and Nevada.62 Because of the varied law on possession of dogs for fighting, dog fighters gravitate towards states whose laws are less harsh.

Thus, the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 was enacted to deter exactly this type of venue searching.

The third category consists of participants who are spectators at the event. In 22 states, being a spectator is a felony.63 In 26 states, spectators can be charged with a misdemeanor crime, and Georgia and Hawaii make it legal to be a spectator in a dog fight.64 The fact that the penalty for being a spectator is less harsh in 26 states perpetuates the problem further because lenient punishments for spectators fails to deter the activity from becoming socially acceptable.

Because states vary on their categorization and the treatment of the three types of actors in a dog fight, this paper briefly describes and analyzes the California and Nevada statutes in order to shed a light on the effectiveness of state laws.

a. California Law
California currently has one statute that prohibits dog fighting activity and two statutes that impose affirmative duties on both veterinarians and law enforcement officers.66 Currently in California, fighting and possession of dogs for dog fighting is a felony punishable by imprisonment in a state prison either for 16 months, two to three years, by a fine not to exceed $50,000, or by fine and imprisonment.67 Being a spectator is a misdemeanor. Cal. Penal Code §597.5 provides, in part:

Any person who is knowingly present, as a spectator, at any place, building, or
tenement where preparations are being made for an exhibition of the fighting of
dogs, with the intent to be present at those preparations, or is knowingly present
at that exhibition or at any other fighting or injuring as described [herein] is guilty
of a misdemeanor.

California also imposes a duty on veterinarians to report to law enforcement officials any cause to believe that a dog has been injured or killed as a result of participation in a staged animal fight.68 The law further provides that civil liability will not attach to veterinarians as a result of making such a report.69

Finally, California law authorizes an officer making an arrest under Cal. Penal Code §597.5 to lawfully take possession of all animals, paraphernalia, implements or other property or things used to train animals or to inflict pain or cruelty.70 The animals will be inventoried and taken to an animal storage facility.71 California laws enacted to deter dog fighting have led to numerous reported cases of dog fighting.

In 2007, there were 27 reported cases involving the fighting of animals, five of which involved dogs.72 On December 17th, 2007, a tip to ABC uncovered information that someone had been dumping bagged dead dogs that had been burned in vacant fields south of Bakersfield, California.73 The case is still open and there are no suspects. On August 31st, 2007 NewsChannel 3 received confidential letters detailing that dog fighting was occurring in Sky Valley and that one Desert Springs police officer encouraged the activity.74 Police found a fenced-off compound and internal affairs investigations uncovered evidence that the police officer in question improperly handled evidence and stole methamphetamine from the police evidence room.75

On August 8th, 2007, five individuals were arrested after police raided nine houses in Fresno, California, and found evidence of dog fighting.76 On April 17th, 2007, two men were charged and convicted after a large investigation into dog fighting in South Los Angeles, where four pit bull puppies and 17 adults were rescued.77

Finally, on March 12th, 2007, a 13-year old boy from South Los Angeles was arrested and charged with dog fighting after he tried to run away from a street fight with a pit bull tied to a chain.78 The California laws and number of reported cases are in stark contrast to that of neighboring state, Nevada.

b. Nevada Law
In Nevada, fighting a dog and being a spectator at a dog fight is a felony, whereas possession of dogs for dog fighting is legal.79 N.R.S § 574.070 provides that:

“No person shall set on foot, instigate, promote…or in any way engage in the furtherance of a fight between…animals in an exhibition or for amusement or gain.” 80

If the animal in the fight is a dog, the offense is labeled a category D felony, under which
N.R.S. 193.130 provides:

[A] court shall sentence a convicted person to imprisonment in the state prison
for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than
4 years. In addition…the court may impose a fine of not more than $5000, unless
a greater fine is authorized by statute.”81

The use of dogs for management of livestock and hunting as permitted by law is not illegal under this statute.82 Compared to California’s $50,000 penalty, this monetary fine can serve potentially little deterrence in dog fighting and research yielded no reported cases involving dog fighting in 2007 or thus far in 2008 for Nevada.83 Debatably, thiscould be due to the emphasis in California on the duty to report dog fighting. In many instances, dog fighting rings were uncovered through the tip of an anonymous informant.

The lack of reported cases in Nevada may perhaps show that the stricter penalties and more stringent laws in California to uncover dog fighting rings, in fact, sheds a light on the dog fighting epidemic whereas lax laws cast a shadow on this everpresent social problem.

Certainly, Nevada is not immune to the national epidemic despite the troubling lack of reported cases. When state laws do not serve to deter dog fighting, however, local municipalities are not without remedy. Communities can take action by enacting local laws to help deter the “blood sport”. However, laws such as breed-specific legislation, for example, are accompanied by harsh criticism.

Part IV - Breed Specific Legislation Not The Answer - click here

Part I - The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act - click here
Part II - The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act - click here
Part III - State Law Comparison: California and Nevada - click here
Part IV - Breed Specific Legislation Not The Answer - click here
Part V - Preventative Solutions - click here
Part VI - Conclusion - click here

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