The HSUS Notes Gains in Battle Against Dogfighting, One Year After Raid on Michael Vick’s Property

April 25, 2008

A year ago today, the term "dogfighting" wasn't viewed as a top-tier animal issue and the subject was seldom in the headlines. But then there was a drug raid in Surry County, Virginia. The search for drugs led to the discovery of fighting dogs and that brought the spotlight of shame onto NFL quarterback Michael Vick. At the time, he was one of the biggest names in professional football.

Now, instead of wearing jersey # 7, he wears the number of a federal prison inmate. More importantly, dogfighting is known throughout America for just what it is:  a vicious industry that always involves unconscionable cruelty and often other criminal activity.

"Although The Humane Society of the United States has battled animal fighting for more than 50 years, the Michael Vick case shined a powerful spotlight on the spectacle of staged fights and put this issue on the national radar screen," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "This year, more than 25 states have legislation to upgrade their laws against animal fighting, and many of them have passed, or are expected to be enacted." 

Here are a few of the many milestones in the effort to wipe out dogfighting that have been reached in the last year:

• Raids on dogfighting operations have increased from 27 between January and April 2007 to at least 67 raids to date in 2008 — more than doubling the number of reported arrests for this crime.

• Wyoming and Idaho made dogfighting a felony offense — and these two states had been the last holdouts with weak penalties for fighting crimes. Lawmakers in Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon and Virginia also passed stronger laws against dogfighting, as part of a wave of 26 states considering legislation to increase penalties.

• The HSUS's reward program for people who give us information leading to the arrest and conviction of animal fighters, made possible by the Ware Foundation and our donors, precipitated dogfighting raids in half a dozen states. Twenty rewards have been paid so far and several are pending. The cases range from a Texan who reported on his neighbor and his six scarred pit bulls to major busts with dozens of animals confiscated.

• In February, The HSUS worked with the Pima County Sheriff to bust two of the nation's most notorious dogfighting kingpins, Mahlon Patrick and T.L. Williams, in Arizona. Officials seized more than 150 dogs and arrested six people.

• The HSUS has held joint press conferences with state attorneys general, the Chicago Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney to announce the animal fighting reward program. Joint press conferences with three other state attorneys general have been scheduled.

• The HSUS's animal cruelty and fighting campaign has trained more than 700 law enforcement officers how to identify and prosecute animal fighting, produced a new video about dogfighting and distributed tens of thousands of rewards posters.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.