Dog Fighting Still an American Pandemic

Dog fighting is an all too common horror. In many places, even locally, these events are the “norm.”

The cruel environments that these dogs are kept in often triggers a survival mode instinct. The dogs are often starved, beaten, injected with steroids, chained, trained in harsh conditions, and much more. Once a dogs are deemed “no longer useful,” they are either electrocuted, shot, hung, beaten to death, or killed in a different, horrific matter.

At dog fights, the two opponents are put in a tiny space and forced to fight, most times to the death, while people bet on either dog. The dogs often rip one another apart. Children are often present during these illegal events.

Although these cruel fights are outlawed, tens of thousands of people still participate. These fights are also a gateway to drug rings, sales of ammunition, and many more illegal activities.

“You can get more drugs and guns off the street by breaking up dog rings than you would breaking up drug rings,” a detective said in an interview with The New York Daily News.

In 2015, over 50 small dogs went missing in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were suspected to have been taken by people who participate in dog fighting. In 2011, fourteen men were arrested for an interstate massive dog fighting ring in Philadelphia.

“I think dog fighting is a horrible form of animal cruelty. There is no excuse for it,” senior Addison Procak said.

“[Twenty-nine] pit bulls were found on a farm at 251 Church St. Extension in Nicholson Township, Fayette County. Of the 29 dogs, three were dead, their bodies lying in a dug-out dirt pit; most of the rest were heavily chained and without adequate food and water; two puppies, one male and one female, were found in a plastic crate, both near death. They have since died. A third puppy remains in veterinary care in Uniontown,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said of another dog fighting case.

Although it may seem that dog fighting is an incurable pandemic, there are many ways to prevent it. The common logic advocated by professionals is that “if you see something, say something.”