Leader of National Animal Fighting Ring Arrested for Crimes in Florida

January 26, 2006

WASHINGTON -  After a year-long investigation, today the Seminole Police Department in Hollywood, Florida completed the arrests of five individuals who are accused of organizing staged fights between trained attack dogs and trapped feral pigs, which is a third-degree felony in Florida. The Humane Society of the United States provided evidence of hog dog fighting crimes to the police department, and among those arrested were the president and vice president of a national animal fighting organization.   

Today, authorities arrested Art Parker in Chester County, South Carolina. Parker is the president of the International Catchdog Association, an organized, nationwide network of hog dog fight organizers.  Parker and four others are accused of organizing hog dog fights that occurred in late 2004 on the Seminole Indian Reservation.  The others arrested over the past two months include Rick Kresley of Alburtis, Penn.; Don Matthews of Fort Pierce, Fla.; and Jorge and Ariel Diaz, both of Homestead, Fla.

The individuals charged are alleged to be leaders in the International Catchdog Association, including its president and vice president.  Hog dog fights - often referred to as "hog catch trails" and "hog dog rodeos" - involve setting vicious dogs loose to attack pigs in a penned area, in a bloody and often deadly match that organizers bill as family entertainment. 

"Feral pigs used in hog dog fighting suffer bloody mutilation and repeated attacks from trained dogs such as pit bulls and American bulldogs," said John Goodwin, deputy manager of The HSUS animal fighting campaign. "Hog dog fighting, like dog fighting and cockfighting, is gruesome animal cruelty for human amusement and it has no place in a civil society."

"Fighting animals is a felony in Florida and holding organized fights on the Seminole Reservation does not exempt these people from the law," said Detective Steve Lopez of the Seminole Police Department. "The investigation and resulting arrests makes clear that we will enforce Florida's strong animal protection laws in all corners of the state and there is no place here that is safe for animal fighters."

"These recent raids will hopefully strike the final and lethal blow to the International Catchdog Association and bring to justice all those who profit from the vicious animal cruelty of hog dog fighting," Goodwin said. "We especially congratulate the Seminole Police Department for their excellent work in enforcing Florida law for the protection of animals."

For more information on animal fighting and other animal cruelty issues, visit The HSUS on the Web at www.hsus.org.

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The HSUS is the nation's largest animal protection organization with nearly 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. The HSUS protects all animals through education, advocacy, litigation, investigation, legislation and fieldwork. The non-profit organization is based in Washington, DC and has regional offices across the country.