By: Christine Crawford

Badger-baiting Bear-baiting Betta-fighting Boxing Bull-baiting Bullfighting Chilean rodeo Cockfighting Cock throwing Coursing Cricket fighting Dog fighting Donkey-baiting Duck-baiting Fox hunting Fox tossing

Gladiatorial spectacles

Goose pulling

Hare coursing

Hog-baiting

Human-baiting

Hyena-baiting

Insect fighting

Jackal coursing

Lion-baiting

Monkey-baiting

Octopus wrestling

Rat-baiting

Spider fighting

Wolf hunting

Wolf-baiting

Historical accounts of dog fights go back to the 1750s

Widespread activity emerged after the Civil War, with professional pits proliferating in the 1860s, mainly in the Northeast

Common form of entertainment for police officers and firemen

Although many laws were passed to outlaw the activity, dog fighting continued to expand during the twentieth century

Many of the dogs were brought over from England and Ireland, where dog fighting had begun to flourish after bull-baiting and

bear-baiting became illegal in the 1830s

American Pit Bull Terrier

Fila Brasileiro

Dogo Argentino

Tosa Inu

Presa Canario

Occasionally other breeds and mixes are reportedly used in street fights or as "bait" dogs used by some to train fighting

dogs

Dogs are kept isolated from other dogs

Spend most of their lives on short, heavy chains, often just out of reach of other dogs.

Usually unsocialized to any other dogs and to most people

Anabolic steroids used to enhance muscle mass and encourage aggressiveness

Narcotic drugs may be used to increase the dogs' aggression, increase reactivity and mask pain or fear during a fight

Young animals are often trained or tested by allowing them to fight with other dogs in well-controlled "rolls."

Some people rely on cruel methods to encourage their dogs to fight, including starvation, physical abuse, isolation

May have their ears cropped and tails docked close to their bodies

In 2007, Congress passed the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act which amended the Animal Welfare Act and provided felony penalties for interstate

commerce, import and export relating to commerce in fighting dogs, fighting

cocks and cockfighting paraphernalia.

All states except for Idaho and Wyoming had banned dog fighting by 2008

Idaho became the 49th state to pass legislation that increased the penalty in that state for participating in dog fighting from a misdemeanor to a felony

One week later, on March 4, 2008, Wyoming became the 50th state to pass this same type of legislation

Also a felony in Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

In most states, the possession of dogs for the purpose of fighting is also a felony offense

Being a spectator at a dog fight is illegal in all states except Montana and Hawaii

Approximately 29 states have laws that are related to the reporting of animal cruelty by veterinarians

Dog fights are informal on street corners, back alleys and playground activities

Stripped of the rules and formality of the traditional pit fight Events triggered by insults, turf invasions or the simple taunt Lack of respect for the animals, often starving and beating them to

encourage aggressive behavior

Many of the dogs are bred to be a threat not only to other dogs, but to people as well

"Street" fights are often associated with gang activities. The fights may be conducted with money, drugs or bragging rights as the primary payoff

There is often no attempt to care for animals injured in the fight and police or animal control officers frequently encounter dead or dying animals in the aftermath of such fights

Fighters are more organized

One or more dogs participating in several organized fights a year as a sideline for both entertainment and to attempt to

supplement income

Pay more attention to care and breeding of their dogs

More likely to travel across state lines for events

Dogfighters often have large numbers of animals (as many as 50 or more) and earn money from breeding, selling and

fighting dogs at a central location and on the road

They pay particular attention to promoting established winning bloodlines and to long-term conditioning of animals.

They regularly dispose of animals that are not successful fighters or breeders using a variety of methods, including

shooting and blunt force trauma, or selling them to street

fighters

Fights can last just a few minutes or several hours

Both animals may suffer injuries, including puncture wounds, lacerations, blood loss, crushing injuries and broken bones.

Although fights are not usually to the death, many dogs succumb to their injuries later.

Unless they have had a good history of past performance or come from valuable bloodlines, losing dogs are often

discarded, killed or simply left with their injuries untreated

If the losing dog is perceived to be a particular embarrassment to the reputation or status of its owner, it may be executed in a

particularly brutal fashion as part of the "entertainment."

Most dogs that are used for fighting are never even brought to a veterinary clinic

No record of this owner or animal ever coming to the clinic

Many old scars present on the face and body

Very bad temperament

Broken bones

Suturing large lacerations such as bite or scratch wounds

Usually have no vaccinations

A blood sport in which two roosters specifically bred for aggressiveness are placed beak to beak in a small ring and

encouraged to fight to the death

Roosters were first bred for fighting in Southeast Asia more than 3,000 years ago

Cockfighting spread to Greece, Rome and Britain about 200 years ago

Particularly prevalent in Colonial New York, Philadelphia and Boston

By the 1800s, it had spread to the South and West Coast

Roosters often wear knives or artificial

gaffslong, sharp, dagger-like attachments

that transform their natural spurs into knives for

maximum injury

Fights can last anywhere from a few seconds to 15 minutes, while death is often the outcome for either one of both animals

Cockfighting is closely connected to other crimes such as gambling, drugs and acts of violence

Cockfights often inspire a party-like atmosphere in which entire families gather, including children

By 2006, all states except for New Mexico and Louisiana had made cock fighting illegal

Early Spring 2007 New Mexico banned cockfighting

May 2007 - Congress passed the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, a bill to impose felony-level penalties for activities in interstate or foreign commerce that facilitate or promote animal fighting

July 12, 2007 Louisiana passed a bill on cockfighting, which prohibited cockfighting and the possession of chickens for the purpose of cockfighting. The state ban became effective Aug. 15, 2008

The possession of birds for fighting purposes is prohibited in 34 states and the District of Columbia

Being a spectator at a cockfighting event is illegal in 41 states and the District of Columbia

Cockfighting is still popular and prevalent in many other countries, such as France, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Spain, Haiti, Italy and Malaysia

These birds are also likely to never see a veterinarian

Kept in single cages stacked two or three on top of each other

Combs and wattles cut off

Bodies may be shaved either halfway down or shaved backs

Teasers and sharp spurs present

A pit bull terrier is brought to you for suturing of several lacerations on its face and trunk. There are many other old

scars also present on the dog. You have never seen this client

before, and he claims to only have owned the dog for a short

time and has no idea how the present lacerations occurred or

how the old scars came to be. You suspect that the dog has

been used for fighting, but the owner denies this.

Is it ethically correct to report this man to the humane society?

http://www.avma.org/press/releases/080312_dog_fighting_felony.asp

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/aug07/070815n.asp

http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/dog-fighting/dog-fighting-faq.aspx

http://animallaw.info/articles/ovusstatedogfightingchart.htm

http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/cockfighting.aspx

http://www.vactf.org/manual/chap5/section3.php