Bringing the Hammer Down on Dogfighters

By Michael Markarian

Two years ago, Michael Vick was convicted of dogfighting, and it jolted the American conscience. And the recent coordinated dogfighting raids across eight states vividly demonstrate just how far we’ve come, and why we worked so vigorously and for so long to pass a federal law making animal fighting a felony crime.

Dogfighting is an offense without borders. And that means federal law enforcement leadership is needed to cut this sickness out of our society. Starting before dawn on a July 8th, that’s just what we got — the largest one-day string of raids in U.S. history.

The whole brutal subculture of organized dogfighting was stunned when federal agents and task forces of state and local authorities, backed by experts from The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO), and other concerned organizations, swept through Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska and — at the very heart of things — Missouri.

More than 450 dogs that were destined to fight to the death in the bloody pit were saved and taken to emergency shelters. The flagrant disregard that dogfighters routinely show for society’s norms was replaced by the snap of handcuffs and the slap of 30 or so arrest warrants. And, a jolt of fear was sent coursing through the remainder of this sordid underground of organized crime. The Texas indictment that led to nine of the arrests was stark and ringing in its language. It charged the defendants with “conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.”

If you know much about dogfighting, you understand that its devotees rely upon a well-developed communications network. After the July raid, the urgent message that pulsed from one fighting kennel to another was as plain as the glint of a G-man’s badge: “Dogfighters, your days are numbered.”
So, let me say thanks.

Thanks to all of you who not only supported the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) in our campaign to pass the 2007 bill that made these raids possible, but also to the ones that supported the 2008 follow-up that dictates dogfighters face a well deserved five years in the lock-up. A tip of my hat to each of you. Your phone calls, your emails, your letters, your door-to-door lobbying efforts paid off big time.

Thank you also to the following, all of whom championed this fight in Congress and worked with their colleagues and leadership to get the job done: U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), John Ensign (R-Nev.), and John Kerry (D-Mass.); Representatives Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), and Betty Sutton (D-Ohio); and Senate and House Judiciary Chairmen Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Conyers Jr.(D-Mich.).

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General whose agents led the raids. Thanks to the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the state and local officers who joined in making our country a better one. Thanks to the U.S. attorneys, who were willing to make this series of raids a priority because they know what a wellspring of horror dogfighting is for animals, people and entire communities.

Thanks to our colleagues at the Humane Society of Missouri whose investigation set off the chain of events. They led the way this summer for a constellation of humane organizations that committed resources, expertise, volunteers and energy. Among those organizations were the United Animal Nations, the ASPCA, and PetSmart Charities. The HSUS acted as lead animal welfare agency in the rescues in Texas and Oklahoma and assisted the HSMO with the rescues conducted in Missouri and Illinois. But there is plenty of credit to share.

Let’s not forget one important group. After all, humane organizations don’t get taxpayers to cover the tens of thousands of dollars expended and weeks of planning that went into the July raids. That means that millions of rank-and-file Americans who send donations to HSUS and other animal welfare groups deserve, as much as any of us, the nation’s gratitude. And when you donate to the HSLF, you help make sure the nation’s animal protection laws have teeth. Friends, please take a bow. Thanks to all of you, there are dogs who sleep tonight in safer places.

And for those suffering animals still trapped in the grim clutch of the dogfighters, we’ll get there as soon as we can and we won’t rest along the way.

Michael Markarian is executive vice president of The HSUS and president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. He writes the blog “Animals & Politics” at www.michaelmarkarian.org.