Vick case highlights dog's high U.S. status

DALLAS (Reuters) - Dogfighting is condemned as illegal in all 50 states, and this probably says as much about the dog's high standing in U.S. culture as it does about the cruelty of the blood sport.

It came under the spotlight after football star Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons pleaded guilty in Virginia last week for his involvement in a dogfighting case that will almost certainly land him in jail.

This high standing for dogs in the United States is not shared by all cultures, notably some Asian countries where dogs are food, and much of Africa, South Asia and the Arab world where they are often viewed with disdain.

"Dogs have a very special place in American culture," said Wayne Pacelle, president of The Humane Society of the United States.

"They are members of the family in the majority of American households. You identify with the victims of dogfighting because they are a familiar animal ... You don't treat members of the family this way," Pacelle said.

The dog has been celebrated in American literature by Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" while "Lassie," "Benji" and "Beethoven" have enchanted generations on screen. The Washington-based Pet Food Institute estimates there are about 63 million pet dogs in the country.

"There is agreement almost uniformly in America that this is not humane," said James Bias, president of the Texas branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Texas penalties for dogfighting were stiffened this year.

"Here you have a very conservative property-rights type of state like Texas that has said that this will not be tolerated," he said.

FROM COUNTRY TO INNER CITY

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter of Idaho, one of only two states where dogfighting is not a felony, has said he wants to make it one.

"He thinks any kind of animal fighting is a bad thing and should be a felony," said his press secretary Jon Hanian.

Otter is a staunch conservative and sportsman who earlier this year expressed interest in participating when Idaho opens its first-ever wolf-hunting season.

Dogfighting grew out of rural areas and is now associated mostly with inner cities and gang culture. But it has virtually no public supporters in the United States.

Cockfighting will only be banned in all U.S. states when legislation prohibiting it in Louisiana takes effect next year. It is a felony offense in only 35 states versus 48 in the case of dogfighting, according to the Humane Society.

But Pacelle said in several southern states penalties for cockfighting were lax, enforcement was feeble, and there are magazines dedicated to the sport that openly advertise cockfighting equipment.

"Our attitudes about the use of animals are sometimes quite inconsistent in society," he said, noting that chicken is a popular food.

He said many people tolerated practices that others found cruel, such as lab testing of animals, if there was at least a clear benefit seen as a result.

"Dogfighting fails on all tests: the suffering is extreme and the social purpose is not at all compelling," he said. "That's why it's universally reviled."

(Additional reporting by Shea Andersen in Boise, Idaho)