Organized animal fighting involves pitting two animals against each other for the amusement of spectators. These animals are often bred to be especially aggressive, and this aggression is often enhanced for the fighting ring by drugs and abusive training techniques. Staged animal fighting is a particularly despicable form of animal cruelty because it tries to pass off animal suffering as entertainment.

Organized animal fighting events—cockfighting, dog fighting and hog-dog fighting—attract spectators who gather to watch the bloodshed and to gamble on the fight's outcome. During law enforcement raids on animal fighting rings, officers often uncover illegal drugs and firearms alongside the bodies of dead or maimed animals.