WASHINGTON – The HSUS issued an alert today to its members
nationwide to help put an end to events in Clarke County,
Alabama where penned pigs are attacked by trained dogs. The
HSUS is reacting to a recent undercover investigation by NBC
affiliate WPMI-TV in Mobile that uncovered “torture and
bloodshed” at the events, which are held as family
entertainment. To see the WPMI video, go to www.wpmi.com and
click on special reports.
Hundreds of people come to Clarke County to attend these
events called “hog dog rodeos.” The video obtained by WPMI
shows pigs screaming as dogs, mostly pit bulls, maul the
trapped animals. In between events, children are shown tackling
a pig with a taped snout and evidently suffering from a broken
leg. Another rodeo is scheduled for this weekend in Clarke
County.
“It is sickening that anyone would consider it entertaining
to watch an animal tear at the flesh of another and watch them
writhe in pain and suffering,” said Ann Chynoweth, counsel to
investigative services for The Humane Society of the United
States. “Alabama has many fine traditions, but hog dog rodeos
is certainly not one of them. This gruesome display of illegal
animal cruelty needs to be stopped with the full force of the
law.”
The HSUS is asking its members to contact Clarke County
District Attorney Robert D. Keahey to urge him to enforce
Alabama law and put an end to the hog dog events. After
reviewing videotape of the event, District Attorney Keahey told
The HSUS that he believed hog dog rodeos were a violation of
Alabama’s animal protection law. He further said he would be
working with the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office to put an end
to this cruelty.
“We are pleased that the District Attorney’s Office agrees
that these events are a violation of Alabama law,” said Wayne
Pacelle, senior vice president for The HSUS. “We encourage the
citizens of Alabama and people nationwide to call for
enforcement of the law and let Clarke County know that these
bizarre, brutal events have no place in our communities. We
look forward to quick action to put an end to this organized
animal cruelty,” he said.
Hog dog events are not limited to Alabama. The HSUS believes
they are occurring regularly in most southern states including
Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia. In 1994, the Florida
Attorney General determined that hog dog events were a
violation of Florida’s animal fighting and baiting law, but the
events still take place illegally in Florida today as evidenced
by the recent arrest of a Charlotte County man for animal
cruelty that resulted from a hog dog event.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s
largest animal protection organization with more than eight
million members and constituents including 79,190 in Alabama.
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
celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2004, is based in
Washington, DC and has 10 regional offices across the country.
The HSUS Southeast Regional Office serves Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi.
