The horror of dog fighting is never-ending. The dogs are scared, raised on heavy chains, just far enough away from the other dogs to not get bit. The dog’s ears and tails are docked by the owner, usually in inhumane ways. Even though dog fighting is illegal in all 50 states, it happens in many places all over the country. The number of people estimated to be involved in dog fighting is tens of thousands. Greyhound racing is also a very sickening topic. Greyhound racing leads to many deaths of greyhounds, although some owners take good care of their dogs. In most cases, though the dogs have fleas, ticks, and internal parasites, they suffer from this because of the lack of good vet care. The greyhounds are usually stacked on top of each other in crates for 20 or more hours.
Dog fighting occurs in every state in the USA, it happens in cities along with in the country. Before the dog, the fight begins the owners of the dogs switch dogs and they each wash the opponent’s dog and check them out to make sure there is no form of cheating on the exterior of the dog. That does not stop the owners of the dogs from drugging them, the drugs make the dogs more hostile and agitated. The dogs also have overdeveloped muscle mass. This is because the dogs tend to be tied to a treadmill throughout the day. The dogs who are involved in the fighting are usually treated very well by being given the best food and vet care. Even though they are given these things, that does not mean making them fight is right. No animal should have to fight just so we can be entertained. No matter how well they are taken care of, the dogs don’t live long. Most of the time the dogs are fatally wounded in the fights or worse. Attending a dog fight or any other animal fighting event is considered a felony, even if you do not have a dog or animal participating. The charges or consequences you would face in Georgia are: On your first offense you could be titled to a year to five years in prison; on your second offense you can face from five to ten years in prison. In other states, you would pay a large fine. In no world is dog fighting right, the torture of every day of the dog’s life is lived in fear and darkness. Make a difference, speak up to your local humane society or sheriff’s office about animal abuse.
Greyhound racing is in some ways worse than dog fighting. While the dogs who are locked into dog fighting are fed the best food and given the best vet care. When it comes to greyhound racing it is a different story. The dogs are locked in the kennels for 20-23 hours a day and most of the time have internal parasites and other illnesses. They are allowed out into a small, fenced-in, dirt run where they are allowed to relieve themselves from hours inside a crate. A crate that is usually only 36 inches by 36 inches by 42 inches. On the track the dogs often experience life-threatening injuries or injuries that cause them to no longer be able to race, causing them to be put down because of that reason. Some of the injuries are broken legs, cardiac arrest, spinal cord paralysis, and broken necks. Many injuries happen in greyhound racing for example from January 2008 to April 2018, 15,273 greyhound injuries wear documented. That is a staggering number of injuries to happen in just a decade. A normal greyhound’s lifespan is 10-14 years, a greyhound who is forced to race often only lives 18 months to five years. It is hard to believe that some states still allow this cruel practice, 40 out of the 50 states have outlawed greyhound racing. Florida is going to be phasing out greyhound racing and making it illegal in 2021. Greyhound racing is extremely inhumane, dogs who would normally live long happy lives are forced to run to their death.
Other than the cruel animal sports I have already talked about there are some others, for example. Cock fighting is the cruel cruise of making two usually male birds fight. The most common bird is subtracted from these roosters. Bullfighting is also a very terrible sport, a bull is poked and cut to make it mad. The main spot that the bulls are usually speared in their backs so you can visibly see the blood pouring down their spine. Once the people have had their fill, the bull is removed and killed. Hog-dog rodeos are a sport that you do not commonly hear about. That does not make it any less wrong though. Hog-dog rodeos are when two dogs, who are usually pit bulls, chase after a hog who has been detusked, the hog is detusked in inhumane ways, most of the time they break the hogs tusk with a metal pipe. The hog is striped of it ́s best defense and then turned out into the shoot with two dogs against it. The dogs have an unfair advantage but they still get hurt, but not as bad as the hog. Every one of these sports end with blood and hate. Sometimes it is to the animal from the owner if they lose, most of the time it is dog to dog, bird to bird, and predator to prey.
In conclusion. The darkness of animal abuse that we have made, these sports that always end in bloodshed. Can be changed, they can be gone, and they will. We have to take a stand and as Jane Goodall would say “The least I can do is speak out for those who can not speak out for themselves.” We must make a change so these animals don’t have to live in a dark and scary world.
