I don’t watch football so I’ve never heard of the guy, but it’s assholes like him that make me despair for our species.
Vick case sheds light on dark world of dogfighting
No matter how Michael Vick’s indictment on charges of operating a dogfighting ring is resolved in court, allegations against the NFL star have forced mainstream America to confront the grisly image of canine death matches.
Law enforcement and animal-protection advocates who have participated in raids on the type of enterprises that the Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three other men are accused of running say the reality of the dogfighting underworld is even worse than most people can imagine.
They say seized dogs inevitably are euthanized, the plywood walls of the typical fighting ring are splattered with blood, and cruelty shrouds every aspect of the dog’s life.
“When you go to where these fights have happened, you’ll find a couple of dog corpses or a pit full of blood,” says Mack Dickinson, a Louisiana state trooper who heads that state’s dogfighting investigations. “We’ll open up their kennels, where they’ll put dogs after they’ve fought, and they’ll have blood all over the walls.”
Diane Jessup, a former Washington state animal control officer, says, “With dogs that don’t win, it’s not uncommon for them to be electrocuted, shot, hung or burned.”
“Let me at him!”
Even the US Senate got in on the condemnation.
[Senator Robert] Byrd, 89, said he would not prejudge the men’s guilt or innocence, but he left no doubts about his sentiments.
“I am confident that the hottest places in hell are reserved for the souls of sick and brutal people who hold God’s creatures in such brutal and cruel contempt,” he said.
“One is left wondering,” he said. “Who are the real animals: the creatures inside or outside the ring?”
And from another article, something I heard about on the radio this morning.
On April 25, Authorities seized 52 pit bulls from Vick’s Surry County property and also found equipment used in dogfighting operations including a “rape stand” used for forced breeding, treadmills, drugs to enhance fighting performance, and a blood-stained fighting pit.
Oddly, Vick’s website mentions nothing about all this. And then there’s this heartwarming story for those who are cat people.
Who’s For Chaining Michael Vick In A Pen With His Drugged, Starving, Brutalized Dogs?
Sounds good to me.
I can’t throw stones. I eat pork and I know that pigs (which are more intelligent than dogs) are tortured for months in prison pens only to be slaughtered like, well, pigs. Chalk one up for cognitive disonance.
At least when the dogs die in brutal fights they go out with a fight. Pigs go out like jeffrey daumer victims.
Shocking!!! A cruel football star!! OMG say it ain’t so!
Even if you don’t follow American football I’m a bit surprised you haven’t heard about this story. This story is almost as big as OJ (except it was dogs that snuffed it instead of people). He’s already lost his Nike deal (technically, put on hold…yeah right) and my bet is that he’ll be released from the Falcons or required to take a leave of absence. The amount of money he is currently losing and stands to lose is staggering.
In the course of about a year he’s going to go from being the 100 million dollar face of the NFL and a franchise to being inmate 12345.
#4: I’ve heard of the story over the last couple of days, just never heard of Vick before it came out.
Hilarious. There was nothing wrong here. These dogs were BRED TO FIGHT. People project their lovey dovey feelings toward their own dogs on these professional fighting dogs. I swear i see it all the time– people have more sympathy for dogs than they do for humans! We train our armies to go kill Iraqi men and boys. Why not show some gruesome pictures of what our boy do to young kids in Iraq. Show how our bombings have maimed kids and mothers. Show their burnt-scarred faces and charcoaled limbs. NOOOO. we don’t have time for that, dogs are more important than human lives.
CROCK OF BULLSHIT BY COGNITIVE DISSONANT AMERICANS WHO ARE SELF-RIGHTEOUS (AND PROBABLY FAT).
‘Man of Leisure’, you are right on in both of your posts. If I could say it better I would.
Americans are even more out of touch with reality than Europeans are but in a different less respectable way.
Get it touch with what is going on in the iraq war:
http://mindprod.com/politics/iraqwarpix.html
#6 you are sick, please get professional help.
Just because there is an illegal and immoral war in Iraq and there are humans suffering there doesn’t mean it’s OK to do what these sick bastards did. This is a justifiable reason for lynching. Decent people shouldn’t allow disgusting filth like these cowards to share the same atmosphere.
#6: And it’s OK to breed them to fight? That’s the start of the problem. Redneck scum like this need their blood and guts to get their dicks up, so they take it out on animals.
And nice, standard debating tactic by the way. Sorry. Try another tactic that isn’t so weak and transparent. Being concerned and disgusted by animal cruelty doesn’t mean we’re not disgusted by human cruelty. Since you post comments quite often of late, you know this blog takes a pretty harsh and relentless stand against exactly what you say we should be against.
And yes, in many cases, I am more concerned about animals than some people. People can decide to be stupid, so they get what they deserve.
And the fat remark was just lame. Please try to do better next time.
#10. It’s ok to breed Veal Calves, isn’t it?
I thought we were breeding animals for better lives not for Killing each other Like the idiots in IRAQ.
Actually, there are often plenty of reasons to care more for animals that evolved alongside human beings in the fullest meaning of the word “companion” – than for the thugs who send young people off to foolish, cruel wars.
But, even though I’m supposed to respect all my allies in opposing neocon neo-colonialism, I’d be perfectly happy losing the single issue dweebs who think they should establish everyone’s priorities regardless of topic.
Of course, it’s just as likely we’re being visited by a couple of fascist-minded trolls who think their provocateur prating will somehow stir up opposition to legitimate efforts for peace and sanity.
#11
Unless you’re a full-on, hardcore vegetarian, I’d find it very difficult to argue the legitimacy of killing any animal for consumption, regardless of breeding methods or treatment before the animal is killed. It is far too easy to take literally any statement regarding the treatment of animals to hypocritical levels by questioning eating habits and including inquiry to the procedures used to poach the animal.
So, that said, you can have your moral values and stances (or taboos? some cultures have different ideas for delicacies) when talking about killing animals for consumption, but it would not be topical to bring that debate into a debate about using animals for entertainment in very cruel ways. Of course, there’s also something to be said of zoos or circuses, but again that’s something to be saved for yet another conversation.
>>Hilarious. There was nothing wrong here. These dogs
>>were BRED TO FIGHT.
Holy shit. Did you really say that? Incredible.
Using that logic, Vick was bred (and pumped up on steroids) to be battered senseless and bloody by other steroid monkeys. Perhaps his punishment (if he is found guilty) should be to be put in an arena like the Roman colliseum, but instead of lions v. Christians, he can battle it out against overdeveloped freaks in the heat of a ‘roid rage until he’s dead. That sound good to you?
>>Hilarious. There was nothing wrong here. These dogs
>>were BRED TO FIGHT.
Idiot – no they weren’t, contrary to the peanut gallery’s opinion, no dogs are bred to fight, at most some are bred for hunting and abilities such as to hang onto prey.
Since my view of nutrition is founded in evolution and anthropology – my biggest complaint about the way pigs are raised nowadays is that they haven’t enough fat. They’re bred for PC middle class diets which give up flavor for fad.
On the other hand, I’d also have no problem putting a bullet through the head of a schmuck breeding dogs for show fights.
If I was up for wasting time with a drab little pedant whose life is committed to non-sequiturs, I’d consider explaining why those two viewpoints aren’t at all contradictory.
#14, Andrew, what you said.
And setting fire to a cat for enjoyment is just sick, depraved and against the law. Oh boy, possible new serial killers growing up! 😐
From Las Vegas, “Death Row Dogs” —
http://tinyurl.com/2ojsnq
Of course, it’s just as likely we’re being visited by a couple of fascist-minded trolls who think their provocateur prating will somehow stir up opposition to legitimate efforts for peace and sanity.
Comment by moss — 7/19/2007 @ 8:01 pm
moss, you’re probably right, but the alternative leaves me disgusted.
Can you believe another NFL multi-millionaire has whizzed it all away? Hope he’s got a 401-K, ’cause that NFL pension plan stinks for guys that pay more property tax than I make in a year. Bet his momma is real proud.
#8 Before your superior perspective asserts itself, you ought to check the source of your evidence.
“CMP’s purpose is to stand up for the rights of plants and animals. Animals also includes cetacea, humans and invertebrates.” [mindprod.com]
>>another NFL multi-millionaire has whizzed it all away?
They seem to be pretty good at that. Speaking of “whizzing” things away, if this guy had just hung out with Onterrio Smith, he could have found ways to whizz away his fortune without all the cruelty and the blood: http://tinyurl.com/2r5ps3
Say what you will about the VIkings, but they know how to get into trouble the good old fashioned way – “exotic dancers” on love boat cruises, getting caught with fake dicks going through airport security, and having drunken sex in the stairway of Hennepin Avenue hot spots, and mooning the crowd after touchdowns.
This sick bastard should be strung up by his balls.
funny how you throw that redneck word around there dave… afraid of the n word no doubt… so pc dave… i love this blog if for no other reason than how chicken shit you whities are. too close to oakland i guess. i love how you’re soo afraid to stick your necks out for what might not be pc… its always a good laugh…. how about letting the courts run the course here… lets not forget what just happened at duke.
I’ll nominate “man of leisure” to the Troll of the Year award.
#23, Perhaps Hop will give out the coveted King Kahuna Moran Award for this one. 🙂
Calling Vick a sack of shit is a disservice to shit.
Unfortunatley this is just one natural outgrowth of hip hop crapculture.
#21 – you would have to bring up my team. 😉 More hip hop crap.
Well now. My first reaction was “who cares?” Whats really more cruel–humans playing professional football, or dog fights/cock fights/bull fighting/rodeo’s/pet wild animals/kids with retarded parents/catholic school or any other of a number of things I personally don’t like and would not participate in?
FREEDOM–the right of other people to do that which you would not. Why are such preference proper to legislate as long as “the people involved” do so willingly??
Animals have rights??? and seperate that from being a food source.
Cultural, all cultural- – – -no right or wrong about it no matter how disneyfied we have become.
#26: “What’s more cruel…” Well, considering the humans playing football have a choice to do what they do while the animals involved in all the ‘sports’ you mention didn’t, the answer should be obvious.
We can’t get away from the fact that animals like us eat other animals. That’s biology. But we can be humane about how we treat them. Study after study is finding how much so many of them are more like us than not, no matter how our Western religion addled minds want to resist that. Am I advocating joining PETA? Hardly, but there are lines that should not be crossed in treatment if we want to be considered better than the manure animals leave behind. Admittedly, with the wars we fight and the way many treat each other at times, that’s pretty hard.
27–Hi Dave—once again you “almost” prove my point? When distinctions are hard to draw, drawing them is usually not a wrong vs right decision but rather a personal preference.
Note my post===I personally would not engage in ANY of those activities and would personally provide the most humane treatment of animals possible- – – but – – -I don’t elevate my preferences into a matter of law and jail people for violations, nor do I consider myself morally superior because I prefer chocolate over vanilla icecream.
As to professional atheletes having a “real” choice- – – -I suspect most do not==but why is professional boxing allowed if cruelty is to be outlawed? If it comes down to free choice- – – I could NOT GET my pit-bull mix to not fight other dogs==he loved it. Had to keep him indoors as a result. Or do you think every creature with free will shares the same attitudes about beating the shit out of someone less able?
“As to professional atheletes having a “real” choice- – – -I suspect most do not”
They freely chose to go into that profession rather than do something else. Unless you’re advocating a mysterious force (greed) that compelled them to not take a job at McDonalds or whatever. That sounds so liberal — they had no free will to choose.
We, as humans, have a responsibility to the world. If you wish to abrogate that to greed and other baser instincts by breeding animals (and dogs are now considered to have been selectively bred over the centuries to the point where they are nothing remotely like their original ancestors) for our sport and calling doing that “personal preference”, then I feel sorry for you and our race. You don’t understand our place is not above the animals but on the same level.
29—Well, I was with you until the very last line: “You don’t understand our place is not above the animals but on the same level.” On the same level??? – – – – -Really?——So the life boat has room for another 100 pounds. Do you take the young girl or the younger dog of the same weight? If that is not a puzzler for you, then you just posted something you don’t actually believe in. Fun to be caught up in the argument?
But my argument is NOT for what is cruel and dehumanizing or not, but rather specifically what line or characteristic is present that makes it worthy of being against the law==for that law abridges human FREEDOM–something I find most people don’t understand. FREEDOM is not the right of other people to do the same thing you would do, it is just the opposite.
Fire department called me one day asking if I wanted to donate to a fund to take kiddies to the local rodeo. I said “NO, I think rodeos are cruel to animals and children should not be exposed to it.” Firefighter was surprised and somehow the conversation got to whether or not it should be illegal. I said “No, anybody that likes that sort of thing should go see it. Its just my position that I don’t like it so I don’t support it.”
FREEDOM—as in right to abortion. I don’t care if you are for or against it. Its not your morality or preferences that should control==its the womans. SO==Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics and stop thinking yourself morally superior when you are only oppressing other people with your good opinion.
OR–what line is being crossed making dog fighting which many enjoy so wrong? ((and who cares what the “original” nature of dogs were “supposedly?” Thats not what they are now and thats what is relevant. BTW, out of respect to Ghengis, he was a sharpei mix, not a bit bull which I would not have bought because of that proclivity towards violence==even more strongly bred into sharpei’s as I found out!!))