Source: Zootoo.com, Feb 28, 2009
150 Pit Bulls euthanized, new policy follows: Seized from a fighting ring in December, the dogs were recently put down, resulting in a firestorm of debates. Now the HSUS proposes such dogs to be evaluated individually — a standard that other welfare groups have long lobbied.
NEW YORK — After supporting a court decision to euthanize nearly 150 Pit Bulls involved in a fighting ring, the Humane Society of the United States has issued a new policy, calling for all seized fighting dogs to be examined as individuals, and not as a collective lot.
Wilkes County Animal Control, in Wilkesboro, N.C., destroyed 146 Pit Bulls, including 19 puppies, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at the order of Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson Jr., who ruled the day before that the dogs should be killed.
The dogs were seized from a puppy mill operation run by Ed Faron, 61, owner of Wildside Kennels, on Dec. 10, 2008; the HSUS collaborated with local authorities on the three year investigation leading up to the case.
Faron has since pleaded guilty to 14 felony counts of dogfighting, and was sentenced to eight- to 10-months in prison last week.
Cutting against the recommendations of other animal welfare organizations and Pit Bull rescue groups, the HSUS publicly endorsed the court’s decision to euthanize the dogs, citing the canines’ breeding history and irrevocable nature.
In a press release issued last week, the HSUS said it offered to pay for “an additional professional evaluator to assess the dogs,” but that the county did not “take us up on that offer.”
“Without an affirmative professional evaluation to indicate that the dogs could be safely placed in a new setting, we could not recommend the adoption of these dogs who had been bred for some generations for their instinct to kill,” the release continues.
Other players in the animal welfare community, however, saw the HSUS’ move as disservice to the dogs, which they say should have been evaluated on an individual basis.
“We offered to spay and neuter any of the animals that would have been eligible for adoption and to network the animals through our constituency of animal welfare organizations,” said Francis Battista, a founder of Best Friends Animal Society, the nation’s largest animal sanctuary.
“Had the Humane Society been a strong advocate for individual analysis, rather than a categorical dismissal, there might have been a different outcome to this case.”
According to The Winston Salem Journal, the judge ruled based off North Carolina’s classification of all dogs involved in dog-fighting operations as dangerous; a county ordinance requires all “dangerous” dogs to be destroyed.
Even the puppies born following the ring bust exhibited signs of aggression, according to Wilkes Animal Control Director Junior Simmons.
“They’re not just fighting,” Simmons reportedly said of the puppies. “They’re starting to draw blood.”
Yet Best Friends, as well as other welfare and rescue organizations, say this case has similarities to that of Michael Vick, whose dog fighting ring was busted in 2006. Then, the HSUS recommended all of the Atlanta Falcons’ 48 Pit Bulls be put down for similar reasons.
In the end, a federal court carried out an evaluation of Vick’s dogs; only one deemed extremely aggressive was euthanized, in the end.
“A number of aggressive dogs” were admitted to various sanctuaries, including Best Friends, in Kanab, Utah, says Pamela Reid, vice president of the ASPCA’s Animal Behavior Department.
There, Battista says, the troubled dogs continue to recover and establish themselves as household pets, not bait.
How to Right a Wrong
Reid, a veterinarian, helped conduct evaluations of the Vick dogs two years ago; the animals’ conduct varied, she says, noting the only consistency was their uniform disinterest in playing tug-of-war.
Some appeared fearful of humans, others aggressive toward other dogs; the evaluation process was “complicated,” she says, and remains ongoing.
“It’s a monitoring situation,” Reid said. “We don’t know how they are going to respond to rehabilitative efforts until we try.”
While the ASPCA supports the notion that all fighting dogs should be evaluated individually, Reid says that the initial clearance will not automatically grant the rescued dogs a new shot at life.
“What we want to do and what is actually viable are two different things,” Reid said. “People want these dogs to be saved, but they have to realize that shelters need money to do that, to bring in the professional staff, and you need a place for the dogs to go. Not every facility is set up to provide that kind of service.”
When former fighting dogs find access to such facilities, however, they are sometimes able to thrive, says Marthina McClay, organizer of Our Pack, a Pit Bull rescue, education and training organization in Los Gatos, Calif.
Our Pack is home to several of Vick’s canines, including Leo, who now performs services as a therapy dog.
The organization believes Leo’s success is not an anomaly.
“The Vick case is not a fluke,” McClay said. “Gosh, our ‘bust dogs’ are the best dogs we have had. There is temperament and there is training. When they come to us, we are setting up an environment so that temperament can flourish.
“I understand that some dogs can be damaged from abuse cases, there is no question about that. We are asking that we just look first. Just look and evaluate the dogs as individuals.”
Failing to do so, Battista says, only perpetuates false impressions and stereotypes of the breed.
“While everybody else is out here trying to restore the breed … change the way that they are related to in a lot of communities, we feel the position by the Humane Society, the alleged largest animal welfare organization in the country, tars the whole breed and doesn’t help or support the work that is being done,” Battista said.
Despite repeated attempts, an HSUS representative was not available for comment as of press time.
Yet the organization defended its commitment to eradicating dogfighting in its release, saying, “We’ve probably invested more in combating dogfighting than all other humane groups combined, and to great effect.”
It also echoed Reid’s point that there are “very few good options” for game-bred dogs.
“There are no sanctuaries that exist for the thousands of game-bred dogs confiscated each year, and as a nation, there are hundreds of thousands of Pit Bulls awaiting adoptions in shelters every year,” the release says.
The HSUS expressed hope that the crux of this event — the breakup of Faron’s fighting ring and his subsequent arrest — not be muddled in welfare organizations’ disagreements.
“We understand your concern about the judge’s order to euthanize the dogs, and it is always a tragic outcome when healthy animals meet such a fate,” the release says. “But the blame lies with Mr. Faron, and not with The Humane Society of the United States … Had it not been for our investigation, most of his dogs would have suffered immensely in a fighting pit in the weeks and months ahead.”
Looking Forward
The HSUS and the Best Friends’ coalition may soon again meet on common ground, given the HSUS’ recently announced interim policy, which will call for all fighting dogs to be evaluated on a one-by-one basis.
Wayne Pacelle, CEO and president of HSUS, has called for a meeting of “major stakeholders” in April to discuss the aftermath of dogfighting busts. The meeting — and interim policy — were reportedly both in the works prior to the 147 dogs’ destruction.
“We expect government, corporations, and individuals to constantly re-evaluate how they deal with animal issues. Likewise, we regularly review our own policies and procedures here at HSUS, and we think it is important to talk with professional colleagues in the movement to examine issues related to the disposition of fighting dogs,” Pacelle said in another HSUS release, announced on Feb. 23.
“I am pleased to discuss these issues with personnel from Best Friends and other organizations interested in the welfare of Pit Bulls.”
The altered policy is long overdue, but a welcomed change nonetheless, Battista says.
“This case was a categorizing event,” he said. “It was a loss to everybody that these animals weren’t given the chance to be evaluated, but in the larger picture, it has started a lot of discussion and concern about the policy the Humane Society had in place.”
McClay says she, too, is now looking toward the future, and not on the rift this case has caused between the HSUS and other organizations.
“This is a step in the right direction,” she said. “I see that this is going to change, I am hopeful it will actually change, and I am happy to be a part of helping with this.”
No additional details on the April meeting have been released, but the HSUS did say the event will take place in Las Vegas.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
