Vick put spotlight on dog fighting

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The federal indictment of Atlanta Falcon’s superstar Michael Vick on charges of participating in a dog fighting ring has brought national attention to a hidden subculture of animal cruelty that has been thriving in the shadows for decades.

Nationally, animal rights activists and the public at large have been shocked by the allegations and the practice, and locally, the Cibola County Humane Society is outraged. If nothing else, it has opened the door to closer scrutiny and investigation by local law enforcement agencies of this practice in individual communities across the country.

“It’s a barbaric practice that has been going on for a long time and just seems to be growing larger,” Denise Marinelli, head of the Cibola County Humane Society, said. “We check and double check the perspective owners of pets before we release an animal to them, so that we can assure the animal will not be abused or mistreated in anyway,” Marinelli said.

Not all animal placement agencies do that, and sometimes smaller dogs are purchased to be used as “bait” for fighting dogs. That way the fighters are not harmed, and it serves to build confidence that they won’t get hurt when they actually get in the ring.

Dog fighting also has legal consequences that can land a person in jail if they are involved in it. Under the State of New Mexico Criminal Code, Article 18, Section 30-18-9 (A), (B), and (C), on New Mexico statutes annotated in 1978, the law clearly states that it is unlawful to cause, sponsor, arrange, hold or participate in a fight between dogs for monetary gain or entertainment. Participation in a fight between dogs for those purposes consists of an adult who is present at the fight without attempting to interfere with or stop the contest, or owning or equipping one of the participating dogs with knowledge of such contest. The state law has penalties for any of these violations which are considered a fourth degree felony, and a person guilty of violating this law or any portion of it can get up to 18 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections and/or a $5,000 fine.

For information regarding dog fighting, contact Crimestoppers, 505 287-8400. All calls are anonymous.

The city of Grants has local Ordinance 350 that was approved and adopted in 1985. 1985, and it states under section 5.8 that it is unlawful to cause, instigate or promote any fight in which two or more animals are engaged for the purpose of injuring, maiming, or destroying themselves or another animal. Under the city ordinance, any violations of the ordinance is considered a misdemeanor and if the person is convicted, can result in a fine not to exceed $300 and/or imprisonment for a period not to exceed ninety days.

Animal cruelty laws are in place on all levels, and the alleged participation of the Falcon quarterback has triggered an invigorated interest of communities to clean up the problem of dog fighting in their own back yard. In Cibola County, the District Attorneys office will vigorously prosecute any case of this nature, a spokesman said.

With information regarding dog fighting, contact Crimestoppers, (505) 287-8400. All calls are anonymous.