Attending Dogfights Is Now Illegal In The US
With the approval of a new agricultural law in the US, it was established that it is illegal to attend dog and other animal fights. However, despite various restrictions, this illegal and brutal business continues to develop in much of the US.
A law to discourage dog fighting
The law, known as the Farm Bill, covers different aspects of raising and managing domestic animals.
And although the organization of dog and other animal fights was already classified as a federal crime, with this new legislation it is also considered illegal to attend and bring children under 16 years of age to these encounters.
Democratic Senator for Washington State Maria Cantwell was the advocate for the bill and worked tirelessly to get it passed. For this reason, he received a distinction from the Humane Society of the United States.
“If a man aspires to a correct life, his first act of abstinence is to hurt animals.”
-Leon Tolstoi-
An illegal business on the rise
However, despite the progress in legislative issues, dog fighting continues to be a profitable business, focused mainly on the southern and eastern states of the North American territory.
Unfortunately, it is a trend that is on the rise as it is a practice that has become popular in gang culture.
These groups are true brotherhoods that move in a hermetic way, favored by the advantages of mobile telephony and the internet. Thus, fights are agreed and bettors are summoned through encrypted messages in forums or chats.
In addition, the business of fighting with animals is associated with the trafficking and smuggling of:
- Exotic and domestic animals
- Drugs
- Weapons
The cruel fate of some attack dogs
The dogs that are used in the majority for this cruel and violent activity are known as attack dogs.
They are strong, athletic and muscular animals, with a powerful bite. Among them:
- Pit bulls terrier
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- American Staffordshire
- Argentine Dogo
- Brazilian Row
- Tosa Inu
- Akita Inu
- Rottweiler
How dogs are trained for fights
The training received by the poor dogs that fall into the hands of these criminals is brutal. Their physical strengthening and their emotional weakening are sought in various ways, all cruel. For instance:
- They are kept chained and hungry
- Forced to run on treadmills using other animals as bait
- It hangs from their jaws to reinforce their bite
Furthermore, dogs are usually tortured and even drugged so that their ferocity increases. Many “trainers” cut off their ears so their contestants don’t bite them, sharpen their teeth to cause more serious injuries, and also administer steroids.
To the rescue of the survivors
The fights that are organized are, for the most part, kill or be killed.
Animals that manage to survive the confrontations and are not executed by their owners end up abandoned and battered in the streets. And, since they have not received any kind of affection throughout their lives, it is difficult to socialize them.
But since the breed does not determine the aggressiveness of a dog, the protectors bet that the sooner they can lead a normal life with a family that loves them and allows them to forget an atrocious past.
In pursuit of the laws being applied
Hopefully the existence of increasingly specific regulations will allow more efficient and rigorous action to be taken to put an end to this true crime, which is the use of animals in the illegal fighting business.
And while it is difficult to disrupt networks that operate in hiding, tolerance should be zero for these types of aberrant crimes against animals that are left at the mercy of the brutality of some humans.
Meanwhile, the innocent victims continue their ordeal, unable to defend themselves from that being who was supposed to be their best friend and became their executioner.
