Beloved or Bloodsport

Michael Vick faces federal charges related to a dog fighting ring allegedly run from his property in Surry, VA. Vick, who has been asked to stay away from the Falcon's training camp while the National Football League investigates these charges, has reportedly been offered a plea bargain, which he is expected to accept or reject today, according to the New York Times.

His two co-defendants, Purnell A. Peace and Quanis L. Phillips signed statements to be included in the trial against him, each accepting one felony count for the charges related to their involvement in the aforementioned dogfighting ring.

Dogfighting, which is illegal in all fifty states and in the District of Columbia, is now considered a felony offense in forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The Animal Welfare Act, which in May made many changes to the legislation of animal cruelty; reflect some of the changing views in American society towards animal cruelty. These changes seem to indicate a lower tolerance for acts considered indecent and even less acceptance for what some consider horrific, namely the now felonious bloodspot.

This graph shows the proportion of types of animal cruelty cases on record for the year 2007 thus far. By far, the most common form of cruelty is neglect and abandonment, followed by fighting, hoarding, and shooting. The numbers were transcribed from private animal cruelty database pet-abuse.com, which is cited by the Humane Society of the United States in their report on the one hundred worst animal cruelty cases of 2006. ]]>