Where
do you stand on dog fighting?
Ever really thought
about it?
To those who love the
American pit bull, it can be an amazingly complex
subject! How can you love a breed forged by baiting and fighting
- and yet deny that those same forces should be at work today?
It IS a complex issue. And here is where
I stand:
The ancestors of the American pit bull were first
large game hunters (grippers), then as culture changed they became
"butcher's dogs" and their work was the baiting of bulls.
Around 1850 bull baiting was banned and the dogs were turned on
each other. This was due to pressure from police - it's hard to
hide a bull bait.
Was dog fighting ever "noble" or "better"
than it is now? The suffering of the dogs was the same, of course,
but after speaking face to face with men like Louis Colby and
John Foseca I can honestly say that prior to 1970, dog fighters
cared about gameness - not betting -
and the care of their dogs was significantly better
than that given today. The difference was respect. When you compare
the career of a dog like "Hunky" (best known for this
win in Cuba) compared to the lives of dogs in the inner city today;
dogs locked in trunks of cars while their owners drive around
until one dog is dead or too severely injured to continue, dogs
fought on street corners or playgrounds - there is no comparison.
Read about the REALITY of the conditions
these dogs are kept in - especially "big name
dogmen" who many hold in respect while knowing
nothing of the reality - you can draw your
own conclusion concerning just how much respect and care today's
dog fighter gives their animals. As Howard Heinzle said years
ago, the new generation of dog fighters he called the "Pepsi
Generation", wanted only ferocity and care nothing
of gameness.
WHO TO BLAME?
It might surprise you who is to blame. Just as
the banning of bull baiting brought dog fighting to the front,
so changing dog fighting from a minor offense to a
FELONY caused the complete
change to dog fighting. Once groups like the HSUS brought in FELONY
laws (rather ridiculous in the first place) experienced, compassionate,
knowledgeable gamedog breeders like the Colbys dropped out. Whereas
in the 1940s you saw layers, doctors, judges, mayors and government
leaders participating in the sport, the advent of FELONY laws
took this stabilizing element away and left - those who had no
issue with being felons; the criminal element, drug users and
worse.
As groups like the HSUS and ASPCA put more and
more pressure on game dog breeders, and very importantly, as they
spread horrific misinformation about "bait animals"
and other cruelties unknown before that time, the face of dog
fighting changed forever. Those who would fight their dogs no
longer had knowledgeable or compassionate people to help them
to learn how to condition or treat their dogs. Instead, the only
information they had access to was that put out by the "humane
groups" who told lurid tales of "bait pets" in
order to stir up donations - resulting in far more cruelty than
ever their had been.
The HSUS, PETA and ASPCA have ever been, first
and foremost - the enemies of the game dog and bird. First, by
making FELONY laws which replaced those who truly cared about
the game animals and their welfare with the criminal element.
Second, by spreading horrific misinformation
about the training, keeping and conditioning of fighting dogs
(and birds!) which - due to the lack of information from knowledgeable
game breeders resulted in the criminal element doing the things
the HSUS told them "how it was done".
Third, by launching a public attack against the
game dog and bird by spreading misinformation about how aggressive
(toward humans!) these animals are. By spreading false information
about "bait" animals causing a public hatred of American
pit bulls as a threat against their pet dogs.
Fourth, by showing that their concern lay NOT
with the animals involved, by making ZERO attempt to house or
care for these animals after seizure. If the HSUS used just a
portion of what they pay their employees for travel
they could provide safe, long term housing for seized
animals. But they can't do that because the truth about the temperament
and character of these animals would come out.
The HSUS does its own version of "Shoot, shovel, shut up".
So, for me, the complex question of how to love
and preserve the American pit bull comes down to this: the time
for dog fighting is gone, just as the time of bull baiting is
gone. The challenge now is for pit bull breeders to avoid the
pitfall of the show ring, and to come up with unique tests to
keep our breed game. And an important part of the challenge that
faces us is this: we must police ourselves - not allow
extremists who do not even want our animals ALIVE to police us.
We, the breeders and fanciers must come up with new challenges
for the bulldog at the same time we band together to fight the
anti-pet efforts of HSUS/PETA/ASPCA.
The ASPCA has a very dubious genetics program
aimed directly at the destruction of American pit bulls. The HSUS
fights everyday to erode your rights as an animal lover. PETA
has clearly stated that their ultimate goal is the removal of
all animals from human ownership.
The American pit bull has two powerful enemies:
the "humane groups" working for his extinction, and
the modern dog fighter who are producing dogs of dubious genetics
and characteristics while keeping them in negative headlines.
Who is the friend of the American
pit bull? Those few people who CARE enough to study,
learn and understand WHAT an American pit bull is. To understand
what gameness is. To understand that new, legal ways must be found
to keep him game. Who understand that the so called "humane
groups" must not be supported. Who understand that until
breed numbers are drastically reduced, efforts to restore the
pit bull to its rightful place as the world's premier breed will
fail.
So, the following pages will give you information
by which to make up your own mind. I deal with the "humane
groups" on other pages, so here you will read about the harm
done to our breed by today's illegal dog fighters.
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