Dog fighting

Dog fighting is a type of blood sport generally defined as two game dogs against one another in a ring or a pit for the entertainment of the spectators or the gratification of the dogfighters, who are sometimes referred to as dogmen.

In rural areas, fights are often staged in barns or outdoor pits; in urban areas, fights may occur in garages, basements, warehouses, abandoned buildings, back alleys, neighborhood playgrounds, or in the streets. Dog fights usually last until one dog is declared a winner, which occurs when one dog fails to scratch, one dog dies, or one dog jumps out of the pit. The loser, if not killed in the fight, is typically killed by the owner through a gun, beatings, or torture, in fights run by criminal gangs in the U.S. However, sometimes dog fights end without declaring a winner. For instance, the dog's owner may call the fight. Dog fighting generates revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling. It is also a felony in all 50 U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. In addition, the federal U.S. Animal Welfare Act makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive any dog for purposes of having the dog participate in an animal fighting venture. The act also makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly use the mail service of the United States Postal Service or any instrumentality of interstate commerce for commercial speech for purposes of advertising a dog for use in an animal fighting venture, promoting or in any other manner furthering an animal fighting venture except as performed outside the limits of the States of the United States. Worldwide, several countries have banned dog fighting, but it is still legal in some countries like Japan, Honduras, and parts of Russia.

Blood sports in general can be traced back to the Roman Empire. In 13 B.C., for instance, the ancient Roman circus slew 600 African beasts. Likewise, under Emperor Claudius's reign, as spectators cheered, 300 bears and 300 Libyan beasts were slain in the Colosseum. Dog fighting, more specifically, can also be traced to ancient Roman times. In 43 AD, for example, dogs fought alongside the Romans and the British in the Roman Conquest of Britain. In this war, the Romans used a breed that originated from Greece called Molossus; the Britons used broad-mouth Mastiffs, which were thought to descend from the Molossus bloodline and which also originated from Greece. Though the British were outnumbered and ultimately lost this war, the Romans were so impressed with the English Mastiffs that they began to import these dogs for use in the Colosseum, as well as for use in times of war. While spectators watched, the imported English Mastiffs were pitted against animals such as wild elephants, lions, bears, bulls, and gladiators.

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