Release The Dogs: Creating A Social Remedy to the Dog Fighting Epidemic - Kris Crawford
Amanda M. Searle
Spring 2008
Dog fighting is a national epidemic affecting all cross-sections of society.1 This illegal activity continues to flourish for three reasons: the underground nature of the “blood sport”, the failure of state and federal laws to deter involvement in dog fighting, and the lack of community outreach to prevent community acceptance of the activity before it becomes established. The secretive nature of this inhumane activity makes police detection of the underground society extremely prolonged and complicated.2 Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick is the latest illustration of the sheer volume of police investigation and effort required to build a case to expose the brutality of dog fighting.3 Furthermore, many state laws differ in their treatment of classifications of those involved in dog fighting, which can stifle their effective deterrence. As a result, some counties have initiated breed bans, a solution that has caused uproar from responsible pet owners, whose dogs are integral members of their families.4 In addition, federal laws such as the Animal Welfare Act, which is designed to control the treatment of animals and to define the function of the law in regulating their care, have also been the source of much criticism for their purported failings and lack of enforcement.5 In response to these criticisms, on May 3rd, 2007, President Bush passed the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007.6 The Act provides felony penalties for interstate commerce of dogs for the purpose of dog fighting.7 Yet, those members of the dog fighting community insist that no law will deter them from engaging in the activity.8
This paper asserts that the lack of emphasis in training police to detect dog fighting and the failure of communities to conduct sensitivity and outreach training, thus allowing children to be exposed to cruelty which in turn results in a belief that this inhumane treatment of animals is acceptable, are the predominant reasons why dog fighting is growing in popularity. Only after a community trains its police force and integrates a comprehensive outreach program into its schools and community centers can a preventative solution stop the practice of dog fighting. Part 1 of this paper will provide the reader with a detailed understanding of this social problem by briefly describing a dogfight and by providing an analysis of the Michael Vick case. Part II of this article will further define the parameters of the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007, illuminate its intended effectiveness, and uncover potential flaws. Part III will analyze current trends in State legislation through a brief comparison of California and Nevada statutes prohibiting dog fighting. Part IV will examine breed ban laws and reveal latent tribulations. Part V of this article will outline potential preventative solutions to the dog fighting epidemic.9 Finally Part VI concludes this paper. (Kris Crawford, Kristine Crawford, For Pits Sake)
I. The Problem - Kris Crawford
a. What is dog fighting?
The dogs clash like a steam train hitting the wall. You can hear it, you can hear the bone crunching…The sounds are quite graphic, you can hear teeth on teeth as the dogs are chewing at each other's mouths and gums and lips. And if the dogs go onto the legs, you can hear teeth crunch on bones and rubbing off bones into the skin, ripping sounds. You know that once you hear the sound, within seconds you'll see the blood. Then came the final fight of the evening. It was a very heavy dogfight, both dogs weighing in at 51-52lbs. That fight lasted 45 minutes. As the fight wore on the ring became increasingly covered in blood and slowly but surely one of the dogs started to weaken. But it wasn't its opponent which moved in for the kill. Bobby Gonzales lifted the dog and took it to a side building; put a crocodile clip onto its tail and a crocodile clip onto its ear and threw a bucket of water over the dog and then plugged it to the main electricity system to kill it. But it hadn't worked because it had fused. The dog was near dead, but not quite complete, so he took it to the house to finish the job. It's death had freed up what Bobby Gonzales callously called 'chain space'.10
The brutality of dog fighting knows no boundaries. It can take place in both rural and urban areas, as well as among the poor and the wealthy. In rural areas, fights are oftentimes carried out in barns or outdoor pits and in urban areas they are staged in garages, basements and abandoned buildings.11 Dog fights are typically categorized as street fights or professional fights.12 Street fights are less organized and usually are the result of a pick up match between two dogs whose owners meet on the street. Professional fights, on the other hand, can be coordinated months in advance and take training and preparation.13 In a professional match, the location, participants, referees, and spectators are carefully screened to ensure maximum confidentiality.14 The rules set forth in a professional dog fight are also heavily regulated. In her article Dog Fighting Detailed Discussion, Hanna Gibson describes the “Cajon Rules” of dog fighting.15 The pits are measured and are usually between 14 to 20 feet square and 2 to 3 feet high. Diagonal ‘scratch’ lines are then drawn on opposite corners of the pit. The dogs must stay behind these lines until the referee commands their owners to release them. Before a match, the dogs are typically weighed and washed to ensure that poison is not used as a tactical advantage. During the match, the dogs wrestle each other until a ‘turn’ is called, which occurs when one dog turns away from his opponent and fails to grab hold. The dogs are then returned to their perspective corners behind the scratch lines and the referee once more orders that the dogs be released. At this point of the match, the dog must ‘scratch’ his opponent by running to the opposite corner and attacking the opponent which is still being restrained by its owner. If the dog does not do this, the match is over. Each time there is a turn, or if both dogs fail to grab hold of each other, the dogs are separated once more. A match typically ends when a dog quits or dies, when a dog jumps out or is pulled out of the pit by his or her owner, or if the fight is raided by the police.16 If the fight is raided, the referee will announce the next meeting place for all spectators to gather.
The spectators at dog fights can range from all ages, both male and female. This social problem is further amplified by the fact that children often attend dogfights, thus perpetuating a cycle of abuse and violence within the community.17 (Kris Crawford, Kristine Crawford, For Pits Sake)
The Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) found that individuals who attended dog fights and regularly witness other forms of animal cruelty are five times more prone to commit crimes of violence against people.18 The study also stated that a very high percentage of individuals who abused or killed animals at a young age also became gang members, batterers, child abusers, school shooters, sexual predators, and serial killers.19 Indeed, exposing children to the violence of dog fighting may desensitize them to violence as well as endorse the inhumane treatment of animals. Dog fighting is also gaining more media attention now than in years past. (Kris Crawford, Kristine Crawford, For Pits Sake)
In 2007, there were five major incidents involving dog fighting that were uncovered by police.20 In March, federal, state, and local law enforcement teams disrupted a large dog fighting network located in Dayton, Ohio, after a year-long investigation. More than two dozen people were arrested and more then 60 dogs were seized.21 In April, authorities in Pass Christian, Mississippi, raided a training compound owned by Maxwell Landry, arrested 17 individuals for various charges of dog fighting and possession of illicit drugs and seized 44 pit bulls.22 Also in April, in Surry, Virginia, an investigation began after evidence of a potential fighting ring at NFL star Michael Vick’s home surfaced.23 Vick and three men were indicted by a federal grand jury for sponsoring the dog fighting venture called “Bad Newz Kennels.”24 Over 60 dogs were seized.25 In June 2007, a circuit court judge in Richmond, Virginia sentenced Stacey A. Miller, who had earlier been arrested after police uncovered a dog fighting ring, to four years in prison for dog fighting. 15 pit bulls were seized from his property, 12 of which had to be euthanized.26 Finally, in July in South Holland, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, 37 fighting dogs were rescued from an old chicken coop behind a house after a twomonth investigation prompted by tips from neighbors.27 While all of these stories have been widely publicized, the status of NFL star Michael Vick prompted the media to truly shed light on the atrocities of dog fighting.
b. The Michael Vick Case Study - Kris Crawford
Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Michael Vick, a rising star in the League, was indicted on dog fighting charges by a federal grand jury on July 17th, 2007.28 The charges against Vick included competitive dog fighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting these practices across state lines.29 The investigation into possible dog fighting on Vick’s property began two months before the indictment when Vick’s cousin, Davon Boddie, was arrested on drug charges and gave his address as 1915 Moonlight Road in Surry County.30 Police searched the property the day after Boddie’s arrest under a warrant to look for drug paraphernalia, found what appeared to be a dog fighting complex, and subsequently called animal control. After retrieving another warrant, over 60 dogs and other evidence of dog fighting were seized and taken to six different pounds and shelters in Virginia.31 The dogs found on the premises were injured and scarred, and chained to buried car axels.32 Forensic experts also found the remains of dogs that had been shot, electrocuted, drowned, and hanged for failure to cooperate with their trainers.33 Vick and three others were charged. Co-defendant Tony Taylor quickly changed his plea to guilty and pointed to Vick as the person who financed the operation.34 The other co-defendants, Purnell A. Peace and Quanis Phillips, changed their pleas to guilty for federal conspiracy charges related to dog fighting.35 Michael Vick was promptly given an indefinite suspension from the NFL, who cited other issues aside from the dog fighting charge.36 The Atlanta Falcons star initially maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to dog fighting conspiracy charges.37 Later, however, he admitted to bankrolling the dog fighting operation and killing at least six dogs because they were deemed unfit to fight.38 Vick is currently serving a 23-month federal sentence and he and his four co-defendants now face state animal cruelty charges.39 However, many of the pit bulls seized from Vick’s massive dog fighting compound have been rehabilitated.
Typically, dogs seized as evidence of a dog fight are euthanized because they cannot be acclimated into society without being a threat towards humans and other animals.40 But an advocacy group won court approval to transport 13 of the dogs seized in the Vick case to California.41 The pit bull rescue and education group, Bay Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls, or BAD RAP, located in Oakland, California, asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gill for approval to evaluate and rescue as many seized dogs as possible from the Vick residence, with the ultimate goal of placing them in good homes.42 In this regard, shelters that would normally euthanize similarly-situated dogs were now permitted to attempt to rehabilitate the animals to integrate them into society. (Kris Crawford, Kristine Crawford, For Pits Sake)
Michael Vick, as part of his plea deal, agreed to pay for the dogs’ care.43 The ASPCA led an evaluation team that observed and worked with the dogs to ensure that they were ready to be placed back in society.44 BAD RAP was granted government approval in mid-October to take a group of the now rehabilitated dogs to California, where they would be placed in good homes.45 While the end of the story is hopeful for these dogs that survived Vick’s camp, those who were tortured by being forced to fight in the pit and those who were killed because they lacked the traits of a fighting dog met their dismal fates too soon. As a result of Vick’s circumstance and similar occurrences throughout the country, President Bush enacted the Animal Fighting Prohibition Act of 2007 as a further deterrence. The law was enacted to increase the penalties for transporting fighting dogs across state lines.
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
