DesertFox
08-26-2007, 09:28 PM
Three years ago, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster was laughed at when he tried to place dogfighting on a national agenda.
He spoke at a 2004 convention for attorneys general across the country. He knew what they didn't: Organized fights where dogs viciously maul each other while surrounded by a loud gambling crowd have been going on for years in South Carolina.
Now, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's guilty plea on federal charges related to dogfighting has brought the underground subculture into the spotlight.
"I'm glad the rest of the country is finally seeing it," McMaster said.
Since McMaster formed an anti- dogfighting task force in 2004, 42 people have been arrested for dogfighting and 17 have pleaded guilty. Roughly 20 cases are still pending.
McMaster has made convicting dogfighters a priority, but investigators have had a hard time breaking into the secretive society.
More (http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/aug/26/dogtask14071/)
He spoke at a 2004 convention for attorneys general across the country. He knew what they didn't: Organized fights where dogs viciously maul each other while surrounded by a loud gambling crowd have been going on for years in South Carolina.
Now, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's guilty plea on federal charges related to dogfighting has brought the underground subculture into the spotlight.
"I'm glad the rest of the country is finally seeing it," McMaster said.
Since McMaster formed an anti- dogfighting task force in 2004, 42 people have been arrested for dogfighting and 17 have pleaded guilty. Roughly 20 cases are still pending.
McMaster has made convicting dogfighters a priority, but investigators have had a hard time breaking into the secretive society.
More (http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/aug/26/dogtask14071/)