April 8 is National Dog Fighting Awareness Day: What You Can Do
April 8th is National Dog Fighting Awareness Day, a day which attempts to bring awareness to one of the cruelest forms of animal abuse: dog fighting. Dogs that are forced to participate in dog fighting frequently suffer extreme physical and mental abuse.
What is Dog Fighting?
Dogfighting is a type of blood sport in which dogs are forced to fight one another for the entertainment and/or profit of spectators.
Often times, dogs that are used in dog fighting are kept chained up or in cages with little access to basic necessities until they are forced to fight. In the cruel world of dog fighting, it is kill or be killed. Fights can last from a few minutes to several hours, and both animals may suffer severe injuries including puncture wounds, lacerations, blood loss, crushing injuries and broken bones. Many dogs later succumb to their injuries and losing dogs are often discarded, killed or brutally executed.
Dogs who are being trained to fight are kept isolated from other dogs and most people. They often spend their lives on heavy chains or in a small, enclosed space, never knowing love or a safe home. The conditioning of fighting dogs may make use of a variety of legal and illegal drugs including anabolic steroids to enhance muscle mass and encourage aggressiveness.
These poor animals are used as nothing more than entertainment and deserve to live much better lives than what they are given. Usually, animals subjected to dog fighting have their ears mangled or tails docked in inhumane ways in order to hide the dog’s body language or reduce the areas the other animal could grab.
Dog Fighting is Illegal in Every State
Although dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, it continues to occur in every part of the country and in every type of community. In the past decade, the ASPCA has assisted with approximately 200 dogfighting cases in at least 24 states and has impacted nearly 5,000 victims of dogfighting through rescue, consultations and investigations.
Still, tens of thousands of people still ignore the laws and have no regard for the animals needs just caring about their own selfish gain in profit or entertainment. According to law enforcement agencies around the country, dog fighting is often associated with other illegal activities such as illegal gambling, drugs and firearms.
The Challenges to Ending Dog Fighting
Dogfighting is a violent and highly secretive activity that is extremely difficult for law enforcement and investigative professionals to infiltrate. A dogfighting investigation can require many of the same skills and resources as a major undercover investigation.
Additionally, since animals caught up in dogfighting cases are both property and “evidence”—much like a stolen car—they can’t be rehomed without legal approval. In some cases, these dogs may end up waiting months or years in shelters, sometimes leading to extreme distress and behavioral decline despite their caregiver’s best efforts. In addition, the expense of long-term care could negatively impact some shelters ability and willingness to house animals seized in dogfighting cases, and without a place to house and care for these animal victims, fewer animals may be saved overall.
How to Spot the Signs of Dog Fighting
Spotting the signs of potential dog fighting could be key to saving countless animals’ lives and preventing future crimes. Look for signs such as:
- Mangled ears
- Docked tails
- Dogs on heavy chains or tethered up
- Dirt rings around where the dog is being kept
- Dogs chained inches apart from one another
- Facial scaring and puncture wounds around their face, head, neck, chest or limbs
What You Can Do
Educate yourself and others. Read up on how to spot signs of dogfighting, spread the word on social media or even talk about it with your friends. Many people are not aware that dogfighting is still so widespread.
Fight policies that discriminate against certain dog breeds, like pit bull-mixes, German Shepherds and Rottweilers. Dogs who resemble these breeds are often unfairly judged by how they appear, not by how they behave.
No dog deserves to go through each day fearing for their lives. The cruel and inhumane “sport” of dog fighting is one of the worst forms of animal abuse. It is up to each of us to put a stop to this cruel and inhumane punishment unfairly cast upon these helpless animals. Be their voice and report suspected dog fighting by calling 9-1-1.
Make an effort not to overlook or judge former dogfighting victims. Dogfighting survivors can go overlooked in shelters due to common misconceptions. Unfortunately, these dogs, many times pit bulls, are often unfairly deemed “dangerous or potentially dangerous” based solely on their breed. But many of these dogs are not aggressive at all—all they want is someone to give them the love they deserve and a home to call their own. If you’re looking to adopt, we hope you keep an open mind and an open heart, or if your home is not right for a furry friend, consider donating to our lifesaving efforts for animals suffering from cruelty and abuse.
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Photo Credit: ChocoPie / Shutterstock.com
