WASHINGTON, D.C. — Animal-welfare advocates are commending the U.S. Department of Justice and its federal law enforcement partners for bringing to justice the final defendant in a violent, multi-state dogfighting network that operated across the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region.
Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, issued the following statement:
“Dogfighting is perhaps the most sickening form of animal cruelty. This long-running criminal operation treated dogs as instruments of bloodsport, subjecting them to unspeakable violence for the sake of gambling and profit. This sentencing marks a major victory for animals and a clear message that this kind of premeditated cruelty has no place in a civilized society.”
Pacelle, who is leading the campaign for passage of the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act in Congress, emphasized the deep criminal entanglements of animal fighting networks. “The FIGHT Act is critical to dismantling the underground networks that sustain these vicious enterprises and to protecting animals from such heinous abuse.”
The FIGHT Act, S. 1454, led by Senators John Kennedy, R-La., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., would strengthen the federal government’s ability to crack down on animal fighting and related trafficking crimes. The legislation is backed by more than 800 agencies and organizations, including the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys Association, and the American Gaming Association.
Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy are urging lawmakers across the country to support and cosponsor the FIGHT Act, to prevent the suffering of animals and dismantle the illicit enterprises that profit from cruelty.
A fact sheet on the FIGHT Act is available here.