How is dogfighting not coercion? How is dogfighting not Force exercised against another (feeling, if certainly not sentient, per se) creature? If we could only punish up to 50 people a year, Vick wouldn't be on the list, certainly. And the whole "at least it's not people" arguement does hold water. At the very least, this should be publicized, highly. At most, everyone should receive an email with Vick's picture and "WARNING: CREEPY, SADISTIC ASSHOLE. DO NOT ENGAGE OR ALLOW NEAR PETS."
sam | Homepage | 07.17.07 - 7:28 pm | #

The only thing I can say is maybe you are drawing too much of a distinction between humans and other animals. In other words, your position seems to be that while homo sapians have some set of basic rights, all other species have none. Personally, I have no problem asserting that animals have rights which should be protected by law.
z | 07.18.07 - 9:24 am | #

How is dogfighting not coercion?

Training a dog to sit, beg, and fetch the paper are coercion too.

I can understand not liking the violence, but the coercion angle seems pretty lame since it's a dog - not exactly an animal capable of reason. They eat their own feces fer crissakes!
Russ | 07.18.07 - 9:51 am | #

When I was a reporter for a local paper in Maryland a few years back, I did some stories on a dogfighting operation that got way more reader reaction (of the "string up the bums that did this!" variety) than anything I had written about human-on-human crime, even child abuse.

I'm just guessing here but at some level people viewed the animals as more innocent than people and therefore their abuse was more tragic.

I had to wonder though why the dogfighting was more awful than cockfighting or bullfighting -- sports that result in an animal's death but typically don't arouse the same passions.

For example, Bill Richardson recently signed a cockfighting ban in New Mexico after years of delay. He did it not because of any sympathy for the birds but because it is viewed as a trashy, hick sport and he didn't want it to tarnish his presidential campaign. Before he set his sights on '08 he was under no pressure to sign it.

So is it just that dogs are cuter and so many of us have had them as pets? Yes, I think so. Sentiment is a big reason why we ban dogfighting.
Sean Higgins | 07.18.07 - 3:44 pm | #

I'm with you on this one Baylen. As disgusting as this is, I can't make a case for criminal prosecution of a person "disposing" of his property as he sees fit. As Sean says, "Sentiment" is a strong emotion (it's sure taken hold of theagitator). How sweet it would be though if Vick got banned from the NFL!
Tom
Tom | 07.18.07 - 10:39 pm | #

Oh Baylen, how could you not see dog fighting as utterly horrible? That is not a libertarian cause! Plus, Michael Vick has been an asshole for years (Ron Mexico?) and ought to be thrown out of the NFL.
Leonardo | 07.19.07 - 9:17 pm | #

you're missing the point. A dog's life is worth more than a nigger's....even if he is a bred-for-cotton-picking NFL type.
ralph vigggio | 07.27.07 - 12:30 am | #