Dog Fighting Research Paper

Forced to fight and left to die

Underground World of Dog Fighting

How would you feel if your beloved pet was taken from your backyard, forced to fight and left to die? Dog fighting is a dangerous underground organised crime that is illegal in every state in Australia and all 50 states in America. The involvement of Michael Vick, a famous NFL quarterback, in a dogfighting ring scandal and his prison sentence created publicity for the dangers and gruesomeness of dogfighting. While many knew vaguely of the practise, not nearly enough people understand the true cruelty that goes into dog fighting. Most of the dogs used in the fights are a certain breed, Pit-bulls, Rottweiler’s, Mastiffs and crossbreds, this means many owners buy, trade or even steal dogs from peoples’ backyards. Dog

fighting has been a popular spectator sport for thousands of years.

What Happens in the Pit?
There are two types of dog fighting. Street fighting is highlycommon among gang members and brings status to the owners of the victors. They take place in garages, alleyways, abandoned buildings, and even backyards. Professional dog fighting is much more organised and discreet. Professional fighters publish statistics and records on their fighters and some travel across the world to fight their dogs. Two dogs are placed in a very small, enclosed arena and set to fight each other. The fighting dogs are cleaned to find out if the owner has put anything that could make the dogs slick or slippery and/or even any poisons. They then wait for the signal from the referee before the fighting, until one dog can no longer fight back, this means the dog is too weak to even walk and in some cases has to be carried out of the arena. These extreme fights can last from fifteen minutes to even a few hours and when they do not result in death. These fights leave the dogs with horrifying injuries for one or both of the them involved. If a dog doesn’t technically lose a match, the chances of them dying from blood loss, exhaustion, dehydration, infection, and shock are high anyway. As a result, of this constant fighting even days after the fight most dogs can still dig from the same consequences. If the dog loses many owners kill the dogs by shooting, beating or even torturing. Before and after the dog fights, the animals are kept in small cages with minimal food and water, this can lead to starvation, which leads to death. Approximately 250,000 dogs were placed in fighting pits nationwide. These beautiful creatures are tortured, shot and beaten, left battered, left to bleed out, left to die and yet still people watch on, people pay, people bet and every single person who is involved in this horrific crime is heartless. Watching on as a beautiful, sweet and kind animal is being beaten until they collapse and bleed to death, is heartless.
The Tip of the Criminal Iceberg
Like other forms of cruelty to animals, dogfighting is often linked to other crimes, including drug activity, illegal gambling, and murder. In a Texas home, three intruders bound the wife and children of a famous pit-bull breeder and killed him for the $100,000 that he had won at a fight. Illegal betting is a big part of dog fighting, many people bet on certain dogs to win, just like betting on a horse at the Melbourne Cup. People bet thousands even millions of dollars just on one dog. You can be sentenced up to 4 years and/or pay a fine up to $25, 000, this does not include if you are caught with drugs, illegal firearms and stolen goods. One example is Michael Vick, ex-quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, (NFL) was sentenced to 23 months in prison for funding "Bad Newz Kennels," his dogfighting operation, and immorally killing, torturing and beating dogs that his kennel used in fights. He was also told to pay more than $928,000 for the care of almost 60 dogs seized from his property.

Helping Mans Best Friend
There are several signs you can look out for which may indicate dog fighting is happening in your area.

These can include ownership of multiple adult dogs and/or puppies which are tied up by chains. If you know of a dog fighting ring, do the right thing and repot it straight away. You can receive an award of up to $5000 for instructions or information that can lead to the arrest and conviction of a dogfighting ring. Do you want your child, pet, best friend or even yourself being beaten, starved, and made to fight every day? No, so do the right thing and help stop dog fighting for good. If you need to report dog fighting call the Humane Society International Australia on the number 9973 1728 or call 000 or call 911 or call 999, dog fighting needs to be stopped and the only way we can stop these evil people is to report and help. These beautiful creatures are tortured, shot and beaten, left battered, left to bleed out, left to die and yet still people watch on, people pay, people bet and every single person who is involved in this horrific crime is heartless. Watching an animal who is so beautiful, sweet and kind being beaten until they collapse and bleed to death is heartless, just

heartless.