Brazilian police bust international dog-fighting ring
December 17, 2019
Police said one pit bull that had died fighting was served as barbeque to spectators and another dog urinated blood. Photos and video footage showed malnourished animals with bloody gouges.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Perrey
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Brazilian police on Monday smashed an alleged international dog-fighting ring, in a raid on a pit bull fight at which barbecued dog meat was served to spectators.
"It was absolute horror," Parana state Police Commissioner Matheus Laiola said. "There were dead dogs, wounded dogs. A dog that had died was being roasted for food, and pepper was inserted into the snout of the animals to make them angry for the fights," he said.
Nineteen pit bulls were rescued during the raid on a farm outside Sao Paulo on Saturday. An American, Peruvian and Mexican were among 41 people arrested. A veterinarian trying to treat a dog that had already fought in order to force him into another duel that same night was among the arrested.
Those detained will be charged with conspiracy to commit crimes, animal abuse and illegal gambling.
Police said the fight was part of an international dog-fighting circuit held last year in the Dominican Republic. Bets were placed at the scene as well as online.
Images and videos shared by police showed injured and malnourished dogs tied up in horrible conditions. Several had bloody gouges on their face.
Laiola said that when one dog urinated, only blood came out.
The pit bulls were trained for days without eating or drinking water.
"We presume it was so they were too stressed to fight," Laiola said.
Police were alerted to the dog-fighting ring by an anonymous tip.
Canines in combat
US President Trump has shared an image of the military dog injured in the raid that captured "Islamic State" (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But the unnamed dog is not the first canine in combat to make headlines.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Baumgarten
The White House's 'VERY GOOD' girl
US President Donald Trump tweeted a photograph of the Belgian Malinois who was reportedly injured in the raid which killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria. The dog's name remained classified — naming it would reveal its handler and therefore the US units in action in the raid — but Reuters reported the dog was only slightly injured and is already back to work. Trump said she did a "GREAT JOB."
Image: picture-alliance/AP/White House
Rin Tin Tin, war hero and film star
Dogs have been used in conflict zones for many years. Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepherd in service in the German army in World War I who was captured by an American soldier and thereafter "defected" to the US forces. Rin Tin Tin made the most of his new life in the US; he went on to have a successful film career in Hollywood in the 1920s.
Image: picture-alliance/Everett Collection
Sergeant Major Jiggs, the US Marines' first mascot
Other dogs in conflict were less hands-on than Rin Tin Tin. Jiggs was an English Bulldog who became the first mascot of the US Marine Corps in 1922. Jiggs quickly climbed through the ranks and became a Sergeant Major within a few years, quite an achievement for a new young recruit. Jiggs was buried with full military honors after his death in 1927.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/BuyEnlarge
Training begins at birth
Most military dogs are trained from birth. In Germany's Bundeswehr, they stay with specialized puppy trainers or handlers until they are old enough to be ready for service. Here the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen holds a puppy being trained for service in the Austrian army.
Image: picture-alliance/picturedesk/H. Punz
'Robby's Law' changed the fate of military dogs
In 2000, US President Bill Clinton signed "Robby's Law" which aimed to make sure that military dogs in the US army were no longer abandoned in conflict zones or euthanized after their service. In Vietnam 2,700 US army dogs were handed over to the South Vietnamese army and 1,600 were euthanized. Now US trainers can adopt army dogs once their service is over — though it was too late for Robby.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Sarkar
German Shepherds — supplied by Germany
Despite their photogenic appearance, not all military dogs are German Shepherds. However, according to the Bark Post, 85% of military dogs in the US are purchased from Germany and the Netherlands after being trained there. The German Shepherd is not the most popular breed; Belgian Malinoises, like the one tweeted by Trump, are more common.
