Last week, a former Pentagon official pled guilty in federal court to dogfighting and racketeering crimes. The Department of Justice investigation of the onetime public information officer for the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense detailed his 20-year history of dogfighting and the immense suffering and cruelty he inflicted on dogs, including intense isolation, training dogs to fight and violent electrocution of the dogs who lost a fight.
“Animal fighting is a crime that's a scourge on our society and no one should be above the law,” said Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Last week’s guilty plea from a former federal official on conspiracy to engage in dogfighting shines a light on this. We appreciate the work of the Department of Justice as well as federal, state and county officials to make it clear that no one, no matter their position of power, can get away with participating in such depraved acts of cruelty.”
The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund consider the case a textbook example of serious multi-agency, multi-state collaboration in addressing the cruelties of dogfighting and cockfighting. From the earliest involvement of Anne Arundel County Animal Control and the Anne Arundel County Police Department to the later participation of the FBI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshall for Maryland, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, it was clear that local, state and federal authorities recognized the severity of the crime and the need to take it seriously. While this case made headlines because of the involvement of a former senior Pentagon official, the organizations noted that a substantial number of dogfighters and cock fighters are active in the United States.
Media Contact
Kirsten Peek: 202-744-3875, kpeek@humanesociety.org
