Dogfighting still a ‘blood’ sport in Conn.
Over the last 10 years, law enforcement in Connecticut has levied 110 charges against people engaged in dogfighting, a cruel and illegal “blood” sport that usually includes gambling on the winner.
The mauled and frightened dogs — often with ears cut off so attacking dogs can’t grab them — usually end up in shelters around the state in hopes that law abiding dog lovers will adopt them and end their nightmare with care and love.
Sometimes the dogs are disposed of by their owners — strangled or killed when no longer useful for fighting.
“When they’re no longer profitable to dog fighters — or if they don’t show enough “fighting spirit”— they’re typically killed in atrocious ways, including by being used as “bait dogs,” drowned, electrocuted, beaten or hanged,” said Martin Mersereau, vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
“There are no winners in this sickening blood sport, only abject criminals who represent the very worst of human nature,” Mersereau said.
Jessica Rubin, a state animal advocate and UConn law professor, said her research shows that 110 charges for dogfighting related offenses were filed in Connecticut between 2007 and 2017.
Rubin said some years there were no charges and other years multiple charges were levied.
“It seems to be more concentrated where people are more concentrated,” Rubin said, referring where dogfighting most frequently occurs in the state’s cites and big towns.
“The issues include extreme cruelty, criminal behavior, gambling, giving dogs unauthorized medicines and violence,” Rubin said. “Children are exposed to the offenses and it compounds the dogfighting.”
Horrific cases
In 2017, a badly injured dog — later named Freedom by rescuers — was found wandering on Brushy Plains Road in Branford covered in scars and injuries. The dog’s teeth were filed down so it could not injure other dogs.
Officials at the Branford Animal Shelter concluded the wounds were the result of dogfighting, and that most likely Freedom had been used as a “bait” dog — the dog that spurs other dogs into attack frenzy.
“Based on the wounds, this dog definitely took the brunt of whatever has been going on,” shelter director Laura Burban told the New Haven Register.
“What we can see is that it looks like his feet were tied together and he was used as the bait dog for other dogs to attack him,” she said.
Bait dogs are often put in a position where they’re defenseless; sometimes hog-tied with wires or rope so they can be savaged without the ability to defend themselves — thus the fileddown teeth.
Dogfighting is often done in pits or an enclosed area where the animals cannot escape. Trainers use electric shock, treadmills and other equipment to condition the dogs for combat.
Dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
In Springfield, Mass., last November, a shelter took in two pit bulls believed to have been used in dog fights. The dogs had numerous bite marks and cuts on them.
In August 2008, a Bronx man was found guilty of buying and training dogs for fight-to-the-death matches.
Jurors watched brutal video of dogs viciously fighting, including one dog who was mauled, bleeding and crying out in pain.
Ongoing problem
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates there are tens of thousands of dog fight organizers across the country that force hundreds of thousands of dogs to brutally train and fight for sport.
The ASPCA says over the last eight years it has assisted with 200 dogfighting cases in 24 states and has helped rescue and investigate nearly 5,000 victims of dogfighting.