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Dogfighting Raids Increase after Vick Indictment

August 21, 2007


	©The HSUS
	The HSUS found this injured fighting dog in a 1999 raid.

Media reports since the day Michael Vick was indicted on dogfighting charges show that law enforcement is increasingly cracking down on dogfighters, as this list of recent arrests demonstrates. While the welcome new attention on the issue is leading to more police activity, these cases—which broke up just a small fraction of the animal fighting operations still lurking in the shadows—should be only the beginning.

The dogfighting problem in this country is much bigger than Michael Vick and will not go away when his case has been resolved. Dogs bred and exploited for this bloodsport will continue to suffer long after the sports headlines turn to a different topic. These dogfighting busts are a step in the right direction, and thousands more dogs will be abused and killed if law enforcement does not maintain its new momentum against this crime.

August 20, 2007: In Atchison, Kan., law enforcement arrested two people and seized 12 dogs. They planned to file dogfighting charges.

August 19, 2007: Police arrested two teens in Toledo, Ohio, for dogfighting and seized five dogs.

August 17, 2007: The authorities seized three dogs as well as drugs (ecstasy and crack cocaine) and arrested two men in Ford Heights, Ill., on dogfighting charges.

August 17, 2007: Officials raided a home in Mount Vernon, N.Y. twice in one week, charging two people with dogfighting-related charges, and seizing a dozen dogs in all.

August 11, 2007: Law enforcement interrupted a dogfight in Detroit, Mich. The participants ran off, but officials seized three dogs, along with a fighting pit and medication commonly given to fighting dogs.

August 10, 2007: Following up on the raids in N.M. from the previous day, officials hit two locations in El Paso, Texas, and seized approximately 25 dogs.

August 10, 2007: A man in Greensboro, N.C., faced dogfighting charges upon his arrest. The authorities seized 14 live dogs and found a dead dog on the property.

August 9, 2007: Law enforcement raided two locations in Chaparral, N.M., and seized 38 dogs. Officials arrested two men associated with Southwest Kennels.

August 8, 2007: Police arrested a Beaufort, Ga., man for dogfighting. At the scene, they found 12 live pit bulls, three dead pit bulls, a dead raccoon and conditioning equipment of the type often used by dogfighters.

August 8, 2007: In Fresno, Calif., officials arrested five people and seized 11 pit bulls, in addition to drugs and firearms. At the scene, officials found six graphic videos of dogs fighting.

August 8, 2007: A drug raid in Buffalo, N.Y., turned up ten dogs who authorities believe were being used for fighting. They seized the dogs.

August 7, 2007: A car crash in Indiana County, Pa., led to the discovery of a pit bull in the back seat who had bite marks and other injuries consistent with dogfighting. Official seized the dog and arrested the driver.

August 3, 2007: The law caught up again with a convicted felon in Portland, Ore., during an arrest which netted 11 dogs. The accused dogfighter ran an operation called Dead Game Kennels.

August 3, 2007: In Indianapolis, Ind., officials arrested a man for dogfighting and seized six dogs.

August 3, 2007: Law enforcement charged a woman in Salem County, N.J., with dogfighting after her landlord found a fighting pit and an injured dog in her basement.

August 2, 2007: Police arrested two men in Austin, TX, for dogfighting, and seized two dogs.

August 2007: In the first week of the month, officials arrested five people in Saginaw, Mich., for dogfighting and seized three dogs.

July 30, 2007: Officials arrested a man in Rochester, N.Y., for dogfighting and seized an injured pit bull.

July 30, 2007: Authorities raided a dogfighting operation in Tallahassee, Fla. They arrested one man and seized 32 dogs.

July 27, 2007: Police arrested three men in Philadelphia, Pa., on dogfighting charges. They seized four dogs.

July 27, 2007: In Beaufort County, S.C., law enforcement arrested a man on animal cruelty charges and are investigating him for dogfighting. Officials found three dead pit bulls in addition to 12 live dogs seized.

July 26, 2007: Brian Bailey, a prominent dogfighter who runs a transport company and has served prison time for dogfighting, was arrested with one other person in Burbank, Ill., while making a transport run. Officials seized 12 dogs.

July 19, 2007: Police in Houston, Texas, arrested one adult and a juvenile on dogfighting charges, using a confiscated videotape to identify the suspects. The video showed young children watching the dogfight.

July 18, 2007: Officials arrested a deputy sheriff in St. Martin's Parish, La., on charges related to dogfighting and seized more than a dozen dogs.

July 2007: In the last week of the month, police in Fort Pierce, Fla., arrested a man and seized 30 dogs from a suspected dogfighting operation.

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