Progressive Wednesday

Dog fighting is not a victimless crime

July 24th, 2007 by Eric

On the front page of the newspaper lately you’ve undoubtedly seen Michael Vick’s face along with a headline accusing him of being involved in illegal dog fighting. While I, of course, wish that this story was not true, I am glad that it has brought this problem under the public microscope.

The problem, however, with this case is that it has switched from the front page to the “Sports” page, and now that microscope seems to have focused in on Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcon’s star Quarterback rather than the problem of dog fighting and what needs to be done about it. Because of its lack of attention, dog-fighting statistics are hard to come by, but hopefully now a few more resources will go into finding and stopping this disgusting practice.

What con you do to help? I won’t ask you to sign a petition telling Nike to drop their endorsement or to get the NFL to suspend Vick. While I think they should do those things if he is found guilty, I think that misses the point.

A few Wednesdays ago, we concentrated our efforts on stopping animal cruelty; we renew that call today. If you ever suspect that an animal you know of is involved in any kind of fighting or other abusive situation, visit Pet-Abuse.com, a 24-hour service where you can anonymously report any pet abuse that you have witnessed.

The most recent edition of DVM News provided a short list of red flags to alert those in the Veterinarian profession of possible dog-fighting cases. Here it is:

• The nature of the injuries – typically on the face, front legs (rarely the rear legs), chest and abdomen.
• Third-party payments, and payments in cash.
• Explanations of injuries that are inconsistent with what the veterinarian sees.
• Requests for treatment supplies for home use.

So if you’re in the veterinary medical field, keep your eyes peeled and report any possible animal abusers. And if you’re not, keep you’re eyes peeled and report animal abusers anyway.

I hope this photographer called the police