350 Dogs Seized In Biggest Dogfighting Raid in US History

ST. LOUIS — As many as 350 dogs were seized and about 30 people arrested during raids in five states Wednesday that animal welfare groups are calling the largest simultaneous raid of dogfighting operations in the U.S.

U.S. attorneys in four of the states announced related indictments accusing 26 people of cruelties ranging from denying animals medical treatment to shooting dogs in the head when they didn't fight well, then throwing their carcasses into a river or burning them in a barrel.

Task forces of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies conducted the raids and made arrests in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma following a more than year-long investigation prompted by information gathered by the Humane Society of Missouri. It wasn't clear whether or to what extent the operations were related.

Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri, said tips had come in from "multiple sources" about dogfighting, and anticruelty workers worked with federal authorities for 18 months.

"This heinous, heinous bloodsport is not going to be tolerated," she said.

The national Humane Society said there also were arrests in Arkansas associated with dogfighting, but no dogs were seized.

Dogfighting is banned throughout the United States and is a felony in 50 states. A law enacted two years ago increased penalties for activities that promote or encourage animal fighting after a long campaign by animal-welfare groups.

Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States, said dogfighting operations typically are not small acts of animal cruelty, but part of organized criminal networks.

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"This was quite an operation and marks the latest in a series of actions that are driving dogfighting, we hope, off the cliff," Pacelle said.

The Humane Society of Missouri is sheltering more than 300 dogs _ believed to be mostly pit bull terriers _ seized in Missouri and Illinois raids and their conditions are being assessed. The dogs will be housed, cared for and evaluated at an undisclosed emergency shelter in St. Louis.

HSUS spokeswoman Jordan Crump, a spokesman with the Humane Society of the United States, said each dog seized in all the raids will be evaluated by behaviorial experts in hopes of placing as many as possible in adoptive homes. The same happened for the dogs seized from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels in the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback's dogfighting case. Animal welfare groups said most were able to be placed in homes or sent to an animal sanctuary.

"The Vick case taught us to see dogs in these cases as victims," said Donna Reynolds, with the Oakland, Calif.-based pit bull rescue and education group Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit bulls, or BAD RAP.

"Animal welfare organizations will have to come together to ensure animals are comfortable in their confinement and they have the best opportunity to be evaluated, and if possible, offered rescue resources," Reynolds said.

____

Associated Press reporters Betsy Taylor in St. Louis, John McFarland in Dallas, and Ed Donahue and Nedra Pickler in Washington contributed to this report.

Comments

[arabianway]

"White Fang", by Jack London was published in 1906.
Part of the book graphically depicts dogfighting.
Then as now, it was sadistic bloodsport for entertainment and money made by gambling on the outcomes.
The participants were all white men, predominantly French Canadian trappers.

If you hear anything about this kind of activity follow up on it. Ask questions. Make people uncomfortable. If, as one poster noted, "the Sheriffs knew about it" (in South Carolina) then contact the MEDIA and the animal welfare groups in the area. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

[DKLabRat]

Why is the picture of St. Bernard puppies? You couldn't be bothered looking for pitbulls pics?

[BlackYowe]

Not just Saint pups but new borns, LOL!

[Vickster]

Actually, Saint Bernard pups are black and white until they're six to eight months old.

[ResistanceisFutile]

Publish the names and addressed of those involved so that they can receive the justice they deserve.

[RightWingMarine]

I believe that is why we have a court system.

[ishok]

Some breeds should require a licence to own... or be outlawed. Laws should be enacted that makes owners directly responsible for what their animals do...so if you take ownership, YOU TAKE OWNERSHIP!
As long as these breeds are legal to own they will be conditioned, trained and fought by their owners. Nothing against the individual dogs themselves. It's just that they are capable of so much damage if they go "off script."
It's like the difference between a bb gun and a rifle.

[Nitehawk]

Why pass a law that would be impossible to enforce? Dog breeders would simply go underground or breed another type of dog into the line so thye could get around the licensing laws.
The real answer is to make the penalty extremly more severe under our current laws. And since dog fighting has been shown to be related to gang activity examine the people who attend these barbaric blood sports.

[scottowego]

A totally idiotic statement.

[Lynne Parker]

No breed should require a license to own. A dog is a companion animal, period. If someone abuses or neglects a dog--regardless of the motive--they should be fined and jailed.

I'm glad to see law enforcement action on these places and I hope the RICO statutes can be used against the people involved.

[madfigs]

Dog owners already are responsible for what their dogs do. If my dog bites someone, I'm responsible. They can sue me. Many homeowner's insurance companies will not insure you if you own a pitbull, rottweiler, doberman, or anything else they consider a "dangerous breed" for this very reason.

[miles120]

Dogs are dogs. Claiming that certain breeds are more dangerous than others is plain and simple bigotry. Behavioral problems are the result of socialization and training, and they can be reversed, as the article above asserts.

I've owned pit bull terriers all my life, and they are loyal, dedicated and loving dogs, just like other breeds. I am currently caring for a rescue who has completely changed over our years together (she has even fallen in love with a cat.)

By the way, did you know that Labrador Retrievers are listed on many vicious dog lists?

[lmoetteli]

Saying that pit bulls aren't more dangerous than other dogs is, well, dangerous. Dogs have been bred by people for centuries to have certain characteristics that are now part of their genetics. While training and reinforcement can make a difference, you aren't going to get an animal to go against its genetics. That is why retrievers retrieve, pointers point, border collies herd, pit bulls fight. Anyone who watches a border collie puppy drop instinctively to the ground as it approaches a sheep or cow or a pointer puppy point at a quail would know that these are inbred characteristics, just like their shape, coat, size, etc. If you watch these breeds do what they have been BRED to do, you would understand that.

[pghnappyrhino]

"'The Vick case taught us to see dogs in these cases as victims,' said Donna Reynolds, with the Oakland, Calif.-based pit bull rescue and education group Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit bulls, or BAD RAP."


so it took michael vick, and NOT the hundreds, or couple thousand, years of dog fighting history?

clowns.

[JanPoore]

Whatever it takes! As long as it's effective. It took Michael J. Fox to raise awareness of Parkinson's and the importance of stem cell research.

I commend Wayne Pacelle and the Humane Society for their tireless work in exposing this and getting the law to take action.

[sixyfivepercentwater]

When I lived in South Carolina (no doubt being punished for sins in a past life) I kept hearing about dog fights. Apparently that part of the country is full of Billbobjoes with cages of nearly feral dogs in their back yard, breeding mothers to sons to produce litters of crazy puppies who look nothing at all like the lead photo. The locals know all about this, and the local sheriffs know too.

Until America evolves into a nation which does not regard animals as just another item of property, the ignorant among us will continue to use dogs and cats as tissues to be discarded when they aren't of any use. Europe is far advanced to us in this regard, and they actually enforce their laws about animal cruelty to such a degree that while such crimes are not completely eradicated they are nearly unheard of. Banning the ownership of dogs who have been bred to fight for generations is also a good idea. Requiring that anyone who wants to let their dog have puppies has to have a breeders license which is difficult to obtain is another step in the right direction.

[JeanRR]

I grew up with pit bulls. Later I owned many wonderful American Staffordshire Terriers. I cannot count how many times, when I was out with one of my dogs, I was asked (by a White man),
"Do you fight your dog?" It is not a racial thing or even totally a cultural thing. It is a criminal thing.
BTW, pit bulls are wonderful, loving pets.

[scottowego]

Maybe you bring up a point inadvertently. Maybe more people in rougher neighborhoods need to be asking that question. Since.... I lived in Jersey City, NJ and the kids in the "hood" bred and raised these dogs as symbols of machismo and for fighting. Most ended up in shelters. that's where I got mine and she is the best, sweetest dog I've ever owned. It's not a white/black/ethnic issue. It's a socio-economic and status issue that needs to be changed.

[SmolderingRuin]

Whoa, those puppies look fierce. Honestly, huffpo.

[nellie]

There will always be warped people who abuse animals this way. All we can do is find them and stop them when we can. Kudos to the agencies that cracked this case.

[jpehrlich]

Congrats and Props to the Missouri Humane Society! I am a huge supporter of theirs.
They do NOT receive government $$ support.
They depend TOTALLY on YOUR donations. Their shelters are well run and they offer excellent care. The volunteers are lovely and caring as well as the paid staff.
Note that it was the Missouri Humane Society that provided the initial investigation and impetus for law enforcement to take action.

Again, please if this has moved you, support them as you can!

[NoblesseOblige]

I promise to send them some money tomorrow. This outrageous activity must end immediately!

[Tiyers]

I'm going to see if they need volunteers tomorrow. I don't see how people could do things like that to animals.

[JeanRR]

Just make sure that you send your money to the Missouri Humane Society and NOT the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). HSUS does not operate a single shelter or give financial support to the hard working, cash strapped, groups that do. HSUS is only about its own political agenda.

[JanPoore]

The HSUS is the national parent and is the organization that effects change - exposes animal abuse from seal clubbing to dog fighting, does the undercover work and gets the laws changed to outlaw puppy mills and lobbys congress and states for stiffer penalties for those that abuse animals. It's not about political agenda. They do great work.

[pissedmichael]

I was startled to read the posts here that immediately held people of different races responsible. This is not a racial issue. This is a humanitarian issue. I don't care who they were. I don't care what nationality or race. I know that race has nothing to do with it. I know this because I know that this kind of depravity, just like any other, is an abomination and designed to satisfy an urge most of us don't have in the first place--and it is not the exclusive aberration of any race. Think about it. The states it happens in allow it to happen. Does anyone really think it's an irrelevance? Come on, who are the office holders in these locales? Illegal immigrants? Get real. Let's just be content to condemn this disgusting indictment of humanity, prosecute it, and take steps to eradicate it. Arguing about the race and nationality is irrational and pointless--and, it distracts from the real issue: Why is this allowed to happen so often in this supposedly civilized country? Time to declare ourselves humane, sentient beings and stop getting jollies from the misery of of creatures, period.

[amalfedup]

As long as they only get a slap on the hand, they will continue to commit these crimes. You can thank people who believe that god gave us stewardship over the Earth and every other creature on it so we can go forth and multiply for the kind of mentality that only values human fetuses.

[dandypuddin]

Somehow I don't think St. Bernards were the dogs confiscated. Are the photo editors at HP 12 years old or just lazy?

[stevi]

The same observation I was going to make. Why in the world would St. Bernard puppies be used under such a headline? I'd say the editors are lazy and are using this photo as the hook.

[TXfemmom]

Well, Texas being on the list does not surprise me at all. In Texas, most dog fighting is conducted by gangs and by Hispanic immigrants. DON'T CALL ME A RACIST. That is a fact which my vet told me, and he volunteers to help take care of the animals caught up in this.

[sueinmn]

Its a known fact that many immigrants do not share the values of animals and life as we do. This is what bothers me about allowing open borders. We are a country of immigrants yes but our forefathers came here and conformed to the ways of the land. Now we are expected to conform to all those ways brought here! Dial 1 for english type thing. Maddning and you are labeled racist if you speak up! Just like another thread about animal sacrifise in ?NJ. They were also immigrants practicing their funky religion!

[Brainy Hobo]

Well...quite frankly the simpler label for you would be "ignoramus". You've gotta be pretty dense to repeat such baseless bs and think u've made some brilliant analysis. Had you been smart enough to check your facts, then I'm sure you'd have realized that by a long shot, cruelty to animals dogs and especially hogs are especially well documented in rural America. Plus, you can't simply state generalizations and pretend to be some kinda expert. How would you characterize the widespread view that cows are sacred in India for e.g.? Cruelty? I mean, how did u even manage to connect this story to immigrants. It's exactly moral cowards like you that America doesn't need more of...not the 'dreaded immigrants'

[robXdion]

You don't think whites do this at all? Are you serious? If you can't blame blacks, get the Mexicans? Is that how your mind works? Because your vet says so?

[bunnyv]

Caucasians don't generally (key word, generally) hold dog fights and cock fights or perform animal sacrifice. Usually it's Caucasians who have horrid puppy mills or just outright torture animals.

[Mesaywar]

LOL, no one is this ignorant naturally, are they?

[JeanRR]

Actually, there are a lot of Whites involved in dog fighting. And they are often involved in law enforcement. The main difference if that more of them are the old style 'dogmen' like in the days when dogfighting was legal. These 'sportsmen' took good care of their dogs (except in the pit) and were, in their warped way, genuinely fond of the dogs. Now days, the dogs seem to be abused 24/7, not just on fighting days. Pit bulls are the victims here. They are fine animals, smart, loyal and beautiful. HSUS and PETA wanted to kill all of VIck's dogs. Let's try to protect these dogs from their 'kindness'. They have suffered enough.

[PatA]

When dogfighting was outlawed, another sport using pitbulls came into the light. I found the first group in Oklahoma. It is called "hog dog rodeo". And it is brutal. a 90 lb pitbull in a lot (corral for city people) with a 20-25 lb shoat. (teenage hog for city people). I don't have to describe what happens in this scenario, do I? A deputy sheriff "outted" me and when we went to bust the rednecks , they had broken down the site and replaced the pitbulls with some bird dogs.

[Rivercs]

Shame you got outed before you could catch them, but what on earth did the authorities think a bunch of bird dogs were doing in a lot with a shoat? (And if the shoat was taken away, what did they do with it, do you know?)

All the bird dogs I know either want to play fetch with pigs or bark at them, and when you raise a pig with a bunch of bird dogs, it will know how to play fetch, too. I've seen it.