On the Fighting Side of Me

ID. Rep. Tom Trail (R-ID. 6) thinks Idaho may be more open to making dog fighting a felony in the wake of the Michael Vick incident:

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) _ An Idaho lawmaker who for three years has failed to muster support for a new law against dogfighting is hoping the case against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick will add momentum to his cause.

Representative Tom Trail, a Republican from Moscow, wants to make dogfighting a felony. But so far, he’s failed to get it out of the Agriculture Affairs Committee.

And while he hadn’t planned on bringing the measure back a fourth time, Trail now says ”The Michael Vick incident might have given it some emphasis.”

Vick and three other men are facing federal charges of competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting, and conducting the enterprise across state lines.

Some Idaho lawmakers still say the state’s existing laws are adequate.

At this point, I’d lean towards toughening our laws. We shouldn’t need a repeat of the dog holacaust that occurred at Michael Vick’s place to stir our legislature to action. Sadly, I think that’s what it may take.

Update:

Clayton Cramer suggests that it may work to simply increase the fine amount:

A felony conviction today takes away many of your rights. You lose the right to vote (in most states), to own a gun, to obtain certain professional licenses. And that loss is usually lifelong. Misdemeanors are generally not so severe. I think felonies should be reserved for only the most serious of crimes.

Dog fighting is primarily done because someone makes money holding these events, or gambling on the outcomes.

I see the point, to a degree, I would argue with the motive. Michael Vick earns millions of dollars as a pro-football player. How much did he get at dog fighting according to indictments:

The charges in the indictment describe 15 fights involving dogs owned by Bad Newz Kennels. In terms of wins and losses, Vick and the crew did well, winning 10 of the fights. But in terms of the purses and the bets on the fights, they were less successful. They lost a total of $37,500, according to the indictment, in their five losses. In their 10 victories, they won only $22,600. That gave them a net loss of $14,900. In a doubleheader in March of 2003, against dogs owned by someone apparently now poised to testify against Vick, they lost $23,000. Vick paid the winning owner with $23,000 in cash that Vick brought to the fights in a book bag.

There probably were other fights not specified in the charges in the indictment. There were at least 10 additional events sponsored by Vick and Bad Newz Kennels in 2003 and 2004, but we don’t know which dogs won and we don’t know how much money was won and lost. Overall, it does not appear to have been a profitable organization. On top of the money lost in purses and bets, Vick apparently financed the entire operation, including the construction of the sheds, the fences and the house.

What exactly is the profit motive here? Michael Vick most likely lost money in this highly illegal operation. And then there are many parts of the dog-fighting game that have little to do with money such as this:

The government’s case includes evidence that Vick and his cohorts “tested” pit bulls for ferocity. If the dogs failed the test, the indictment charges, they were executed by hanging or drowning. In one case, with Vick present, the indictment says a dog was slammed to the ground until it was dead. In another incident, a dog was soaked with a hose and then electrocuted.

This type of behavior has little to do with making money and much to do with an evil type of cruelty that one could easily imagine being turned from beast to man. Given that forty-eight other states have approved the law, I think it’s probably only a matter of time before we get Dogfighting as a felony. Like I said, it will most likely happen after we’ve found some horrendous dogfighting operation operating somewhere off the beating path and it becomes a national scandal and embarrassment to our state. At which point, we’ll be forced to pass a felony law in order to save face. I’d rather if we make changes to our law, we don’t have to do it with our tail between our legs.

UPDATE 2:

Because some people don’t know how to pick their battles, the NAACP defends Michael Vick.

The president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP criticized the prosecution of Vick at a news conference Monday morning. Dr. R.L. White, Jr., accused the government of “piling on.”

“There’s a penalty in football for piling on,” White told reporters. “After a player has been tackled and somebody piles on, they’re penalized for unnecessary roughness. Today, the NAACP blows the whistle and warns the powers that be that you are piling on.”

Captain Ed slapped down the NAACP :

Will the NAACP clarify this statement? Are they now endorsing dogfighting and opposing the prosecution of those who allegedly stage these events and slaughter dogs who don’t perform? Filing charges in court when grand juries hand down indictments does not qualify as “piling on” — unless one wants to argue that the alleged activity should go unprosecuted completely.

Sadly, an organization with a once noble purpose has become little more than a defender of every hoodlum and bad actor who happens to be African American.