by Zach Bigalke

Created on: July 23, 2007

The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, signed into law by President Bush on May 3 this year, expanded the penalties related to breeding, betting on, promoting, or taking any other part in dog and cock fighting. Now anyone engaging in dog fighting or combat between any other animals faces a felony conviction entailing fines of up to $250,000 and three years of prison time. The people who engaged in such activities were already illegal under state laws in all fifty states and under the U.S. Animal Welfare Act; it is only because these laws have not done enough to prevent the plague of this sport that Congress and the President have passed further legislation to thwart its continued spread.

Michael Vick, the face of the Atlanta Falcons franchise and poster boy for a new breed of NFL quarterback, has been indicted by the feds on charges of dogfighting. Four corroborating witnesses have him placed at the scene of dogfights. At a home owned by Vick in Virginia, the authorities found evidence of dog fights conducted on scene - including the corpses of defeated dogs buried on the estate. All signs point to the fact that Vick has been engaged actively in the dog fighting community for years as a breeder, better and promoter.

Putting two and two together, the equation adds up to a minimum four-game suspension by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and pending further time on the sidelines from new NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Vick will have his day in court to attempt to prove his innocence. And, until the due process plays its course, it is impossible without all the evidence to definitively declare Vick public enemy number one. But, based on the facts before the public and the concrete wording of federal and state laws, the truth remains thus: if Vick promoted dog fights, he is a criminal. If anyone promotes fights, transports dogs to fights, bets on fights, trains dogs to fight, breeds fighting dogs or even is merely a spectator at a dog fight, then under the letter of the law they are felons. And no amount of celebrity or highlight-reel touchdowns can alter than indisputable fact.

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