Inside The Dog Fighting Underworld

The indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has turned the spotlight on the seamy, disturbing, yet fast-growing underworld of dog fighting.

Once hidden in the rural South, this blood sport with pit bulls and gambling now can be found in every state, attracting urban professionals, gang-bangers, even teenagers — 40,000 fans by some estimates, CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports.

"They're everybody," said Dave Havard of the Los Angeles SPCA. "They're not locked into a certain type of culture or a certain type of neighborhood. A lot of people get involved because of the money — a lot are in it for the entertainment."

Though it's illegal in every state and a felony in 48, there's a surge in dog fighting — organized professional or amateur backyard bouts with bets of a few dollars to thousands.

A champion dog can cost as much as $30,000 but earn as much as $100,000 in winnings. The winner lives to fight another day, the loser often dies in the ring.

"They've got incredible stamina; they've got incredible power; they've got incredible speed," said Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society. "The fights can last anywhere from 10 minutes to three hours, and the dogs typically die from blood loss or shock."

Dog trainers insist the pit bulls aren't nasty by nature; they say the owners are — they bully and train the dogs to be hyper-aggressive … eager to fight any place, any time, anyone.

"There's dog fighting activities occurring somewhere every moment in this country," Pacelle said.

A sign if the times: Congress recently made it a federal crime to transport fighting dogs across state lines, which might end up pushing this vicious crime further underground.

[MarieAnne13]

If you have so little humanity left in you that you enjoy forcing animals fight to the death, you deserve the death penalty. Not only is dog fighting unspeakably cruel and disgusting, but it has only contributed to a stereotype against pit bulls in the media. The only fault these dogs have is their loyalty and fierceness, which humans have perverted. Yes, there can be mean pit bulls, as there can be mean golden retrievers. A friend of mine still has scars 20 years later after she was bitten by a retriever as a child. My mom has two pit bulls, and they are the sweetest dogs, all they want to do is lay on your lap and lick you. It is the owners, not the dogs, who most often determine a dog's behavior.

[JStevensX]

"...and the flames will rain down on the wicked, the subhuman, and I will rise from their ashes, ready at last to claim their rotten souls for all of eternity."

from "Mute Swan"

[msay3]

P.S. To my previous post....I have known several pit bulls in my time and I have yet to meet a mean one....All of the pits that I have known have been raised by loving, caring owners....These dogs would let kids crawl all over them...No problem....I don't care to speculate as to what a loving pit bull would do should it's owner be threatened, but I know that my Lab would tear the s-h-i-t out of anyone who threatened me! Who could ask for more loyalty than that???

[msay3]

The sad thing about this is that because of the videos put out on the internet of pit bulls tearing each other apart, people are afraid of pit bulls. They are afraid to adopt them and therefore, these poor dogs suffer and waste away in shelters or are euthanized. These are NOT bad dogs!!! Their only crime is that they had BAD OWNERS!!!!

All for a death match between Vick and Fedor Emelianenko all say I? If this is the trend of the future , why fight it. Lets "get her done".

Isn't the solution very simple? Everyone now knows that Vick enjoys fighting to the death and that he likes betting on fights. So a logical avenue is since this is the way that things are going to be, why fight it? Let Vick have it his way. Organize a death match piting Vick against the current MMA champion Fedor Emelianenko. The fight will be held within a country of secrecy and the death match will be televised pay perview. Of course a percentage of the proceeds will go to help the abused dogs that Vick has used for satisfing his own cheap thrills. Lets see just how game Vick really is? He can bet all he likes but alas my money is on him being a closet cure punk and will tuck tail and run from anything that has to do with him doing anything close to what he has forced these dogs to do. Additionally, when he is convicted and has to enter the prison population I bet that he tucks tail again and opts to be separated from population. Any takers? He is the biggest cure punk imaginable and now everyone knows it. I would not even want to be in the same stadium as him. period. Anyone else that is inplicated in this sort of thing needs to have their names televised as such so the public can at least have the choice to even deal with such vermin.

[swwils]

If this dude is dog fighting he needs punished same as I would be I just don't have an NFL contract.It is cruel to the animals I have seen then down in El Salvador while in the military,and they are nasty.They destroy the loser if the other dog don;t finish the job.They are mostly to the death.Once those pits lock on the throat its over,they either sufficate the other animal or tear their throat apart,so yeah I see why they are against the law.If these owners of these teams would do back ground checks on their potential players they might not get a bunch of thugs playing for them.You can take the wanna be gangsta out of the hood but ya can't take ths hood out of the gangsta,the money only increases their game!

[jmhobday]

well, I have tried to make a comment, but it appears some folks would rather see their own opions written over and over and over. Another form of bad behavior.

[MarieAnne13]

For what it's worth, I value your comment. You made some very good points.

[jmhobday]

so if its in mr vicks realm of believe that losing dogs lose their lives by every cruel way possible, others may very well think the same of him, if he plays and loses. Something for him to think about next time he cashes one of his big fat checks. The game of football is a rough sport and it appears he has become immune to pain. Either that or he is one of those who are labeled ***, for their love of pain caused to others. A human person cannot look into the eyes of a dog that trusts you and cause it pain as punishment for losing a "sport" that has nothing of sport to it. Plain and simple it is some peoples way of enlarging their feeling of importance to those who look up to them. It's a real shame that this man earns a paycheck most only dream of, then for entertainment involves in more bloodlust. He should be banned from all sports for life.

[maxsmom124]

MIKE VICK IS AN INSULT TO THE HUMAN RACE. DOG FIGHTING, HE COULDN'T HAVE PUT HIS ENERGY INTO THE SPORT HE IS BEING PAID TO PLAY. HE AND THE "MEN" WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THIS SHOULD HAVE TO TURN OVER ALL OF THEIR FINANCIAL ASSETS TO THE HUMANE SOCIETY AND THEY SHOULD HAVE TO ACTUALLY GO TO WORK BUILDING AND MAINTAINING SHELTERS(OF COURSE NOT CARING FOR THE BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS BUT CLEANING UP AFTER THEM.THAT IS ALL THEY ARE GOOD FOR PICKING UP THE POOP. TO USE THESE LOVING CARING LIVING ANIMALS TO FIGHT TO THE DEATH AND THEN KILL THEM WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH THEM IS THE MOST INHUMANE ACT I CAN IMAGINE. ANYONE WHO COULD ABUSE AN ANIMAL AND ANYONE WHO PARTICIPATES IN THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY OBVIOUSLY SUB HUMAN. MIKE VICKS CAREER BETTER BE OVER AND HE BETTER LOSE EVERYTHING HE HAS. HE AND HIS COHORTS ARE THE LOWEST FORM OF LIFE I CAN THINK OF. I WILL BE PRAYING THAT THE GOVERMENT WAKES UP AND STOPS THIS FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN.