The Long term Damage from Dogfighting - Hanya Awan

Many sports have involved racing, competing and showing off different trained skills that have been incorporated with animals across the world. The activity of dogfighting is one of the most brutal and painful methods to compete in a friendly competition among a multitude of people watching from a distance, and recordings, television shows, and radios have been and still are broadcasting these shows and fights even though some of the scenes are highly disturbing and graphic. Most of the dogs that are prepared for dog fights are not properly kept and have been chained for most of their lifetime, with little food and little water. The health of these dogs has been declining, and the people who prepare the dogs do not contribute to checking on the dog’s health even once to confirm if they are even applicable to fight or have the strength to do so in the first place. Although dogfighting has been banned and not allowed in 50 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, continue to occur in every nation and in every type of platform. Within 10 years, the ASPCA has impacted in convincing a pause to over 200 dogfighting cases in at least 24 states.

Through a thorough investigation, consultations and rescues they have gathered more than 5,000 dogs that were victims of these fights, found in harsh and brutal conditions. Dogs that lose the match in a fight or do not want to initiate fighting during the math, are often tortured, abandoned, set on fire, electrocuted, shot or drowned to their death. According to PETA, a federal prosecutor had visited one of the matches and discovered many injuries with the dogs on the battlefield. In the case which the prosecutor investigated, over 18 dogs were found with 70 open wounds and were missing half of their jaw, while the other 75 percent of another dog’s body was covered with scar tissue. A Louisiana state police officer who conducted dogfighting stated, “When you go to where these fights have happened, you’ll find a couple of dogs corpses or a pit full of blood”. Many officers have ultimately discovered many abused dogs accidentally. For example, in 2007 when authorities were searching for a suspect named Micheal Vick, they searched his property and found dogs who were tied to car axles with logging chains. The property also contained many dogfighting equipment which included supplies such as treadmills, chains, whips, and injectable drugs. Authorities soon revealed to the public that the majority of the dogfighting cases have some parts of illegal drugs, substances and gambling involved with other crimes that can put a greater charge on those who contribute to dogfighting. An investigation of dogfighting incidents in Chicago over a three-year span found that in almost 400 cases, more than half of the dog owners had gang affiliations and had committed other crimes, and almost all of them had been arrested more than twice. Not only are puppies kept in harsh conditions, but are later dead or trained at an early stage, in which they are abused almost every day of their early childhood months. Each year, there is an estimate of over 16,000 dogs who die from dogfighting in the U.S. Meaning, if this number alone is not huge enough, there is a higher statistic which all the world is contributing to dogfighting death cases and casualties each year of thousands of innocent dogs. Individuals have also started to take more responsibility and need to take accountability over these dogfighting matches, as 40,000 Americans are responsible for being involved with dogfighting each year. According to Pet Keen, 50% of police officers have encountered dogfighting at least once in their careers. Thus, governments, organizations, and officials not only need to take further actions in bringing this brutal act to a stop but also need the public’s attention and assistance in reaching this goal.

Works Cited

“A Closer Look at Dogfighting.” ASPCA,

www.aspca.org/investigations-rescue/dogfighting/closer-look-dogfighting.

“Dogfighting.” ASPCA,

www.aspca.org/investigations-rescue/dogfighting#:~:text=Dogfighting%20is%20one%20

of%20the%20most%20heinous%20forms%20of%20animal%20cruelty.&text=Fights%20

can%20last%20just%20a. Accessed 4 Jan. 2022.

“Dogfighting: Dogs Tortured in Illegal Blood ‘Sport’ | PETA.” PETA, 2015,

www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/animals-used-entertainment-factsheets/do

gfighting-dogs-tortured-illegal-blood-sport/.