Essay Sample on Canine Fighting

Canine fighting is the illegal practice of betting on dogs raised to fight against another dog. The ASPCA quotes that “dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands”  although it still happens illegally in every state. Canine fighting should be prohibited in all countries considering that it teaches the dogs to be forceful and aggressive, places the lives of people and animals in danger, and the act of betting on canine fights is competitive and very addicting, making it challenging to stop.

In the process of raising puppies to fight, it teaches them to be aggressive to anyone and anything, making it easy for them to lash out, and hard to control. The owners of the canines prepare the animals to be aggressive by putting them on “strict diets and training regimes'' (Clarke). Sometimes the bettors will provoke the dogs with food, making them more aggressive and willing to fight til death over something they desperately crave. During training, the owners put them on steroids to strengthen their muscles, and the ability to heal from wounds faster. In “A Closer Look at Dogfighting”, research shows that “Narcotic drugs may also be used to increase the dogs’ aggression.” Not only does the use of steroids and narcotics boost the canines' forceful anger, but before the actual round fights, referring to the views of Jacob Silverman, he explains “as part of training, handlers will take cats or rabbits” or smaller dogs and use them as bait. When an animal goes through this kind of trauma, it makes it hard to trust anyone or anything. Therefore, giving a canine the wrong signal could lead to a brutal disaster. 

With the canines prepared to fight, it puts danger in people and other animals’ way because if one escapes, it has the ability to kill and or harm. Animal services proves that “Dogs trained for fighting have been known to viciously attack innocent people for no apparent reason.” During the brutal battle of fighting for their life, “both animals may suffer injuries, including puncture wounds, lacerations, blood loss, crushing injuries, and broken bones”, so imagine if one was to go in and stop the canines in the middle of a fight, or if the fight was to be shifted into a crowd. Even after the gruesome fight, no one is safe because the animals just went through something that was very traumatizing and their emotions and thinking process would not be stable.With the amount of gore and blood and wounds involved with this hobby, that should be a valid enough reason to ban canine fighting in every city, country, and continent.

One is easy to become addicted to fighting dogs because of the idea of “my dog is better than yours” or  the amount of money that is betted is a desperate reason to be associated with the cruel act. As said before, the beginning of round one is the weaker dogs and whoever wins that fight levels up to the next round. Chad Cupido, the author of  “ How the Underbelly of Fight Industry Works”, states “the more fights won, the higher the dog is ranked.” The higher the dog is ranked, the more of a chance the canine handler has of earning the maximum amount allotted for that fight. Although, this is a way of making money for the ones who cannot go out and work because of felonies and charges, canine fighting is not the most productive way compared to odd jobs like mowing lawns or raking leaves. There are other better options to make money therefore it should not be a motive for taking part in canine fight bets. 

In conclusion to whether or not canine is legal in ones state, there are plenty of reasons for them not to participate in the animal cruelty event. In the end, the facts of actual animal abuse happening, the addiction involved with it, or the danger it puts people in, all of these outweigh the other opposing point of legalizing and unbanning canine fighting.