“Dog fighting and cockfighting are veritable growth industries in some countries,” wrote former HSI Executive Director Neil Trent in his column,
Animal Latitudes. “Mongolia, for example, has witnessed a boom in canine fights: Clubs are cropping up in several cities, not to mention one super-sized annual tournament that condemns some 200 innocent dogs to death or injury for the pleasure of a betting public.
“A similar appetite for cockfighting abides throughout Asia, Latin America, and beyond,” continued Trent. “In Russia, Mafia types got their hands on top-of-the-line American pit bull terriers and started breeding them for fighting.”
Even in countries that, like the United States, have animal fighting restrictions, these bloody gatherings can crop up at an alarming rate.
Cruelty Disguised as Sport
The claim that animal fighting is a historic past time is no excuse for this modern-day cruelty. Dogs, pitted against one another and often drugged to heighten their aggression, are forced to fight for up to two hours, even after suffering severe injuries. Those that survive the fight itself rarely, if ever, receive medical attention and often die of blood loss, shock, exhaustion, dehydration or infection hours or days after the fight.
Gamecocks often sustain grave injuries and die as a result of the sharp implements designed specifically for cockfights. Razor-sharp steel blades known as slashers and gaffes, which resemble three-inch-long ice picks, are attached to the birds’ legs, causing mortal punctures and mutilations.
The Violent Connection
The over-the-top brutality seen at animal fighting can have a devastating effect on people too.
"Violence begets violence," Laura Maloney, executive director of the Louisiana SPCA, explained. "Research proves that people who abuse animals are more likely to abuse people. In addition, fighting enthusiasts often bring young children to the fights, desensitizing them to violence and teaching them that violence is accepted by society."
Once violence is established as an acceptable behavior, the door to other illegal and dangerous activities is wide open.
U.S. law enforcement officials have documented the strong connection between animal fighting and other crimes, such as gambling and drug trafficking. Animal owners and spectators often exchange thousands of dollars in bets. These large amounts of cash lead to a thriving illegal trade of drugs and firearms.
"Crime doesn't happen in a vacuum," says John Goodwin, deputy manager, Animal Fighting Campaign for The Humane Society of the United States. "When you have violent people betting large sums of money, you're going to have problems. Dogfighting is heavily linked to gambling, drugs, prostitution, gangs, and guns."
Gambling with Their Lives
It’s hard to imagine risking your life to watch these blood sports, but that’s exactly what many spectators do every time they observe a cockfight.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said cockfighting was linked to the introduction and spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease in 2002 and 2003. It cost nearly $200 million in government funds to contain the outbreak of the disease in California and other Southwestern states. The outbreak also prompted the National Chicken Council to break a long-standing silence on the subject; the Council spoke out against animal fighting and endorsed stricter federal legislation against cockfighting.
In Asia, cockfighting is suspected of aiding in the transfer of avian influenza, a lethal bird flu spread from poultry to humans through contact with bird blood, feces and droplets of fluid.
Avian influenza has already killed many people in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, and the deaths of several children in Asia from the disease have been linked to their exposure to cockfighting.
Join the International Animal Fighting Campaign
For more information on how you can get involved, please contact info@hsi.org.
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