Dogfighting called out of control in South Florida

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Buttercup arrived at the Tri-County Humane Society crippled and cowering, having served as easy prey in dogfight training. After surgeons repaired the legs her owners apparently broke, the pitbull mix landed a permanent home at the shelter west of Boca Raton several years ago.

Each month, the humane society receives about 12 scarred dogs and 80 complaints about dog fights, said executive director Jeannette Christos.

"Dogfighting is out of control in South Florida," said Christos. "It all stems from the money ... thousands and thousands of dollars can be made on betting."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-flbdogs0826nbaug26,0,6095840.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout

[OzarkDem]

1. Why don't they just legalize casino gambling

Wouldn't that take care of at least part of the problem?

[anniebelle]

2. Just shows the depravity of this country.

I'm glad it's more out in the open. My husband and I have worked with these animals in the shelters here in the south for years and years. It's amazing how people just plain don't care. Most people who murder humans in a sadistic, brutal manner, started out on domestic animals. Short trip from dogs to humans. Jus' sayin'.

[cherokeeprogressive]

26. "the depravity of this country"

Your country maybe, NOT mine.

[anniebelle]

38. Your country doesn't watch dogs kill for sport?

Aren't you lucky?

[Double T]

3. The penalties for these barbaric SOBs aren't stiff enough..........

and more investigation and enforcement is necessary. It can't be that difficult to identify the perpetrators and arrest and shutdown these operations. 25-50 year sentences with no chance of parole would help.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

8. Now there's a liberal attitude for ya'

Punishment rather than rehabilitation.

It's so progressive..

[Double T]

22. Just for your information, sociopaths and psychopaths..........

can NOT be rehabilitated; the longer they are put away, the greater the chance their affliction will have subsided due to old age. Yes, people that derive pleasure from watching animals destroy each other are sociopaths and psychopaths. Liberals usually aren't idiots and it sure as hell has NOTHING to do with being progressive. Nice try smartASS!

[The Vinyl Ripper]

23. I was under the impression that personal insults are not allowed on DU..

Quick to condemn other human beings to life in a cage, aren't you?

Could it be that you enjoy watching people suffer?

[InvisibleTouch]

25. If they've crippled and killed animals for sheer pleasure...

...then tell me, do they deserve better than "life in a cage"? That's the very least they deserve, IMO.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

32. Do people *need* to eat meat?

Or is it done for "pleasure"?

If meat is not a necessity for life, then all the killing of millions of animals each year in order that people might eat their flesh is done for pleasure, not necessity.

Why is that killing for pleasure OK and not other killing for pleasure.

Hunters kill for pleasure all the time.

Why is no one wanting to put hunters in cages?

[Double T]

27. Under these circumstances, absolutely. Prison is actually..........

too good for these types of individuals. People that enjoy watching animals suffer and be killed for sport and gambling should NOT be allowed to be free in society. The fact that you appear to be defending the people that engage in this type of behavior is a serious problem. People make choices that land them in 'cages'. Too bad the dogs that are forced to fight or be killed don't have the freedom and ability to make choices. Incidentally, my closing comment to you is based on your profile; isn't that the desired response you expected.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

30. I've never looked at a profile

And I honestly don't recall what I put in mine.

Apparently Americans are much more likely to "make choices" which "put them in cages" than anyone else in the world.

Given that the incarceration rate in the USA is the highest in the world.

But I've noticed that threads about *that* topic sink like a stone..

I wonder if the millions of animals we kill in order to eat their flesh each year have a "choice" in the matter?

[Double T]

35. Interesting how you attempt to obscure the heinous aspects...........

of dog fighting.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

36. Show me where I "obscured" anything..

Just pointing out some uncomfortable truths..

In the abattoirs, aka meat packing plants, we even torture the *humans*.

[QC]

28. Being a liberal means that I have to tolerate cruelty?

Wow! I learn something new every time I come to DU!

[The Vinyl Ripper]

34. I was under the impression that being a liberal meant that one was humane..

Even humane to other humans.

I'm an animal lover myself, I even stop in the middle of the road to pick up and move turtles.

I pluck snakes from swimming pools by hand, to the absolute horror of my friends who are terrified of snakes.

I happen to think that locking human beings in cages for long periods of time is inhumane, as inhumane as torturing dogs.

America does that more than any other society on the planet.

And no one cares.

[michaz]

39. And you suggest we do what with people than? Turn them loose to commit more crimes?

[The Vinyl Ripper]

41. So you deny even the possibility

of rehabilitation?

[Robbien]

4. On Animal Planet, the Detroit animal cops say that dog fights

are a huge problem there. They have broken up several on the show.

Usually drugs and gambling go hand in hand with dog fighting, or so they say.

[jaysunb]

5. Wait . Hold it !

You mean to tell me Michael Vick is not the only person doing this ?? Where the hell is PETA? Oh---they're all up at Vicks place calling for him to be be executed. :evilfrown:

[anniebelle]

7. No, we were attending dog fights all over this country

last night, takin' names, and numbers. Glad Vick shown the light on this subject.

[yewberry]

12. Not so much.

They just put together this PSA with Lamon Brewster.

You're right that they will be outside the district courthouse in Richmond on Monday, but they will be carrying signs that read, "Prosecute all dogfighters, Justice for all victims".

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

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[ThomWV]

6. We used to live in that depraved shithole that is Dade County. Glad we got out.

[Wiregrass Willie]

9. Use to, people like these were shot while trying to escape.

There is a lot to be said for "the good old days".

[monktonman]

16. Big time Freeper alert

Mr.history buff from Georgia
Really???? looking back fondly on "the good old days?"
What ever do you mean?
please explain

[Wiregrass Willie]

20. To a friend no explanation is necessary -- to a foe, none is possible.

Which are you ?

No, I don't explain. But I do answer an occasional friendly question.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

24. What you really mean here...

Is that there is *no* explanation..

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

19. Which "people" were those?

Or did they just get a slap on the wrist from Sheriff Bubba if they looked like him and his folk?

[Wiregrass Willie]

21. Anybody arrested for dog fighting

Which "people" were those?

And don't start that fantasy bullshit about "innocent until ..."

[The Vinyl Ripper]

37. You're absolutely right..

The Constitution is now but a fantasy..

As Ed Meese once said, "if they weren't guilty, they wouldn't be suspects".

You are in very good company.

[elfin]

10. If a state outlawed pit bulls and/or pit bull mixes

with heavy fines/registration fees - would that stem the problem?

Yes, I know it is the owners and not the dogs who are to blame -- but would the criminals substitute another breed - or is the pit the best one for their depraved interests?

Maybe significant rewards for tipsters that shut down a ring might work.

If ASPCA dedicated a fund to that end, it might help.

This must stop, however the strategy.

[LeftyMom]

14. It wouldn't matter- if these guys weren't willing to break the law they wouldn't be fighting dogs

The only real difference would be that the breeders would be hidden instead of left outside, though that's often the case anyhow simply because the dogs are valuable.

And yes, even if all the pibbles got raptured away or prohibition actually worked or whatever, the bad dudes could all be up and running in months with rotties or presas or dogos or whatever dog wasn't illegal, and many of the alternatives would be much more dangerous because they're much larger. If we've learned anything from the drug war, it's that you have to cut off the demand, because as long as there's a buyer with cash on hand somebody will risk prison to supply. We can't get rid of dogs, but we can damned sure get rid of dog fighters.

FWIW, the HSUS has a standing reward for tips leading to successful prosecution in dogfighting cases, I believe it was recently doubled to 5 grand.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

15. *Everyone* is willing to break the law..

It is really just a matter of finding the wrong law.

[Wiregrass Willie]

18. That's an idea I think would work.

I'd be glad to contribute to it if they could put a few dog-fight promoters in prison.

[ConsAreLiars]

29. The same sorts of people engage in cock-fighting.

They don't care what breeds' or species' blood is being spilled, including human. They get off by seeing other beings brutalized.

[maxsolomon]

11. PANE ET CIRCENSES

bread & circuses, the chief interests of rome's plebian classes.

in america, its more like CORN SYRUP & DOG FIGHTS.

dog fighting is a historical phenomenon probably stretching back to the domestication of dogs. it spans cultures. its WHY some breeds look the way they do. BULL dogs descend from dogs used for baiting BULLS. PIT bulls were bred for PIT fighting. WOLFhounds were used from hunting WOLVES.

dog fights, bullfights, cockfights, boxing, ultimate fighting. primates get off on violence. they get off on gambling, too. if people could figure out how to make their domestic cats fight, you bet your ass there'd be catfighting bouts.

what's interesting is why its no longer acceptable in america. you'd think, with the current crassness of american culture, it would be on prime time network TV.

this phenomena will not go away. we're just putting a spotlight on it because of vick.

[Karenina]

13. Which, just maybe, could be the silver lining. eom.

[michaz]

40. Maybe more in the spotlight would help!

Hopefully this will put more in the spotlight. And then more and more and more! This is a horrendous act and my belief is that people that can't see this have a serious problem. If one will treat animals like this they have no regard for suffering in any form. If they do it to a defenseless animal they will do it to a human!

[Wcross]

17. Not much of a surprise, is it?

I am sure dog fighting is popular throughout our country. Don't kid yourself by saying "I live in a blue state" or "I have never seen a dog fight advertised around here". It happens in every state. It makes me sick but I am not in the least bit surprised.
When people have so little respect for human life why would they treat animals any differently?

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

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[theHandpuppet]

42. It's everywhere -- read this article from today's Cincy Enquirer

This is some sick shit, and it's epidemic...

Fighting dogfights
Operation Bite Back charged 19 over brutal matches
BY JANE PRENDERGAST | [e-mail]

The pictures are so gruesome the Cincinnati humane society won't show them: dogs, mostly pit bulls, bloody from fights - some impromptu matches on street corners, some clandestine fights in abandoned warehouses with people paying $100 to watch.

Though widespread attention has been paid to the dogfighting case against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, Greater Cincinnati is home to dogfights too.

Five defendants are scheduled for Hamilton County trials today in connection with dogfights last year in the West End and Walnut Hills. A law-enforcement effort known as Operation Bite Back ended in March with 19 people arrested. Seven people have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to two years' probation.

"There's some dark place in the human spirit that is titillated by the idea of staged combat between animals," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, which helped with the federal raids here. "That numbing to the suffering of others inevitably bleeds out into the rest of society. If you can do awful things to animals, it's not a big leap to do it to your spouse, or to a child..."

MORE at http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/NEWS01/708270385

[theHandpuppet]

43. Forgot to mention...

I'm sure those sentences of two years probation will really teach them a lesson. :eyes: