Victory! Mexican Senate Approves Penalties for Dog Fighting

Dog fighting, although illegal in many countries and considered a felony in all states of the U.S., is still practiced behind closed doors. This act of animal abuse disguised as sport is marked by truly terrifying cruelty. With the use of violence, neglect, and mistreatmentdogs in fighting rings are forced to become aggressive and days on end of this abuse causes their natural temperament to be distorted beyond recognition.

Sadly, many of the dogs used in fights are Pit Bulls, which now adds to the underserved terrible reputation this breed has wrongly received. During the fights themselves, dogs suffer through severe injuries, varying from deep wounds to badly broken bones. On top of that, the end of a life of even a once “successful” fighting dog is not at any better either as dogs are often killed by shooting or hanging. In short, there is absolutely no question about it – illegal dog fighting simply has to be stopped and we have some good news to share with you!

The Mexican Senate recently made a great step towards putting an end to this bloody practice. Lawmakers approved federal penalties for dog fighting and the surrounding activities, including the organization of fights, owning and trading of fighting dogs, possessing property used for dog fighting, and attending fights as a spectator. The law is a great win for animals and will be enacted once it is published in the federal register!

Anton Aguilar, executive director of Humane Society International Mexico, issued a statement expressing their gratitude for first banning and now penalizing dog fighting in Mexico. He writes: “For too long, countless dogs have suffered and society has deteriorated because dogfighting, and the criminal rings that surround it, have largely been left untouched by the Mexican legal system. Those days are over.”

Finally, organizers and supporters of dog fighting will have to face legal consequences for their inhumane actions. Hopefully, many other countries will now follow suit and introduce similar laws to substantially reduce the number of fights and, thus, dogs, brutally forced to take part in this cruel practice. We hope that one day the awful spectacle of dog fights will be nothing but a thing of the past – and the only way for that to happen is to take action against it now!

Image source: Cristie Guevara/publicdomainpicture