New York Takes a Bite Out of Dogfighting

July 29, 2008

Additional Steps Are Needed to Crack Down on Dogfighting Spectators

The Humane Society of the United States commends the New York legislature and governor for passing a new law that will help law enforcement crack down on dogfighting. Law enforcement agencies in the Empire State will now be able to prosecute spectators who knowingly attend dogfights without proving that dogfighting attendees paid admission or gambled on the outcome. Knowingly attending a dogfight is now a violation on a first offense and a misdemeanor on a second offense.

"Spectators finance dogfights through admission fees and gambling, and New York's law is deficient in handling these people who cheer and enable this cruelty," said Patrick Kwan, New York state director for The HSUS. "New York lawmakers have taken a giant step forward, and should take further action to crack down on the entire cast of characters involved in animal fighting."

New York is one of four states in the nation in which possessing dogs for fighting is not a felony. Twenty-five other states assign felony-level penalties to dogfighting spectators.

S. 6466 was sponsored in the state Senate by Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, and a companion bill was sponsored in the state Assembly by Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, D-Manhattan.

Spectators at animal fights are there primarily to bet on the outcomes. They are knowing participants who often pay an admission fee to attend the fight, thereby helping making animal fights lucrative for the organizers. Much of problem with the law before it was amended — Agriculture and Markets Law section 351(4) — was that attending an animal fight in New York without placing a wager or paying an admission fee was not subject to any criminal or civil penalty. Even though animal fights are staged for the purpose of collecting admission or as a forum for gambling, it is often difficult for law enforcement to demonstrate that any particular spectator has paid admission or placed a wager, so, in the past, many spectators escaped penalties.

According to news reports, in June, police broke up an alleged dogfighting ring in the basement of a Bronx apartment building and arrested seven men.

About Dogfighting:

• Dogfighting is a criminal industry; more than 250,000 dogs are placed in dogfighting pits each year.
• The HSUS estimates that 40,000 people follow organized dogfighting circuits across the U.S. while an additional 100,000 meet on neighborhood streets, alleys and hideaways.
• A Chicago Police Department study showed that 65 percent of people charged with animal abuse crimes — including dogfighting — were also charged with violent crimes against people.

Broadcast-quality video and high-resolution dogfighting images are available at video.hsus.org.

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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.