Federal and State Authorities Execute Search and Arrest Warrants in Multi-State Crackdown on Hog Dog Fighting

December 18, 2004

WASHINGTON-Federal and state law enforcement authorities, with assistance from The HSUS, have issued multiple search and arrest warrants in South Carolina, Alabama, Arizona and Georgia in relation to an organized animal fighting ring. The operation began yesterday and continues through today.

Agencies involved in serving the search and arrest warrants include: The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), The Office of the Inspector General for The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), The Jefferson County, Alabama Sheriff's Office, and the Yavapai County, Arizona Sheriff's Office.

"The Humane Society of the United States is proud to be working with the USDA and state and county law enforcement in four states on this organized operation to combat the appalling and cruel practice of hog dog fighting," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "This coordinated effort to investigate and arrest those who organize and profit from this particularly bizarre form of animal cruelty is unprecedented and we congratulate these agencies for all of their important work."

Hog dog fights - often referred to as "hog catch trials" and "hog dog rodeos" - are public events where dogs are released to attack pigs in a penned arena.   The crowd cheers as the dogs, mostly pit bulls, tear at the animals' ears, snouts, groins and tails.  For anyone who has witnessed a hog dog fight, it is the agonizing screams of the trapped and terrified pigs that truly encapsulates the whole ugly business.  Hog dog fighting is even more inexcusable because it is staged animal fighting billed as family entertainment.  Attend almost any hog dog event and you'll see mothers and children in the audience, cheering on the attacking dogs and their trainers. 

The HSUS and state and federal law enforcement authorities have learned that hog dog fights are regularly organized in at least 10 states nationwide and its presence is apparently growing.  States known to have hog dog fighting activity include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

"Hog dog fighting is intentional animal cruelty at its worst, and law enforcement officials should identify, investigate, and punish its perpetrators as the law dictates," Pacelle said. "Hog dog fighting is in fact just another form of staged animal fighting that belongs in the same category as dog fighting, which is illegal in every state and a felony in 48."

Earlier this year, NBC affiliate WPMI-TV in Mobile, Alabama, exposed the horrors of hog dog fighting through an undercover investigation. That videotape spread throughout the South and led to an arrest and conviction of the hog dog event's operator on animal cruelty charges. Shortly after WPMI broke the hog dog fighting story, Louisiana Rep. Warren Triche introduced a bill to ban hog dog fighting in his state which passed and has since been signed into law.

Attorneys general in Texas and Florida have each made opinions stating that hog dog events are in violation of their respective state laws.

More information on hog dog fighting including streaming video, is found on The HSUS' web site at www.hsus.org.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than eight 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 legislation, litigation, investigation, education, advocacy and fieldwork. The non-profit organization, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2004, is based in Washington, DC and has 10 regional offices across the country.

See the Video

Hog Dog Rodeo