The vast majority of dogfighters are not rich and famous like former football star Michael Vick or as organized as the pit masters who schedule high-stakes blood battles that rake in thousands of dollars a night. The most active and numerous dogfighters, experts say, are 13 or 14 or 17 years old — inner-city youths who have trained their pit bulls to fight other dogs in the neighborhood."There are at least 100,000 young kids fighting their dogs under the radar in America," estimates Chicago-based anti-violence advocate Tio Hardiman, who built his estimate on conversations with young dogfighters and authorities in 35 states he has visited. In contrast, about 40,000 adults are involved in organized dogfighting, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
Getting and fighting a pit bull has become a way for inner-city youth to "show their toughness," "develop a reputation in the neighborhood" and "make some money," says Kelly Daley, who led a recent University of Chicago Survey Lab study on dogfighting. Urban kids see dogfighting as a stature builder, and they give no thought to what the animals endure, she says. "This kind of stuff doesn't have anything at all to do with the dog."
Reformed Chicago dogfighter Kione Ford, 16, fits the description. Dogfighting "made me kind of popular," he says. And each time one of his dogs got hurt, "I'd think, 'Well, next time he'll win.' "
Most dogfighting by young people is not the sort described during the Vick episode — big-money events held in well-constructed pits for large audiences. Youth dogfights are usually forced skirmishes between leashed pit bulls on the sidewalks or alleys, or low-stakes unleashed contests in backyards and basements. The results, however, are similar to organized matches: dogs maimed or dying by the thousands every year, enough cash or veneration bestowed on winners to keep them committed, and owners — teens and pre-teens in this case — growing increasingly non-empathetic and violence-prone.
"We've got a whole new generation of criminals coming up as a result of all this," Grim says. Although dogfighting by inner-city kids has been reported for two decades, he says, it is now more prevalent, more enmeshed in the fabric of communities and more appealing to a broader circle of urban youth.
Making dogs fight is "not something that's a thought process at all, it's just something they do" as part of the intertwined activities of violence, says Cynthia Bathurst of Safe Humane Chicago, a coalition aimed at ending inner-city violence against humans and animals. Hardiman agrees: "Violence against dogs doesn't even register."
Please read the full article and reach out to your local, state and federal officials and urge them to take a huge stand against dog fighting. We should be teaching in schools that violence against any living creature is wrong. And write the NFL urging them not to reinstate Michael Vick when he is released from prison. Sports figures are powerful role models for children. Vick dismissed that responsibility by choosing to participate in so many illegal activities. He should be required, as terms of his release, to do a public service campaign against dog fighting and violence against animals, not be rewarded with fame and prosperity.
Full Article
No comments:
Post a Comment