Innocent Until Proven Guilty?

The recent allegations of Michael Vick's role in dog fighting are in the news now. Not long ago, it was the controversy about foie gras. Stories about cock fighting crop up now and then, and also bull fighting, and inhumane chicken production and other agriculture related practices. And to complete the circle, we have "extreme fighting" TV shows, featuring human males displaying to each other and the world how tough and mean they can be.

Dog fighting has been around for a long time, probably almost as long as dogs have been domesticated. When I was in vet school in Texas, my wife and I were out dancing at a local honky-tonk when I met a man who asked if I was a vet student. Around Texas A&M vet students stand out almost like basic trainees do around Army bases. He told me he raised dogs and from time to time some of them "needed a few stitches." He asked if I'd be interested in making a little pocket money. I really knew nothing about dog fighting at the time and in my naiveté just told him I couldn't do that.

I subsequently learned that dog fighting and cock fighting were popular in Texas, and other states, among a certain subculture. News of "current events" and upcoming matches spread through a grapevine. I was surprised a few years later when I called an old friend in Texas and found that his current "hobby" was cock fighting. And the latest thing now in that subculture is staged fights between dogs and pigs. These things, of course, are not limited to Texas.

Foie gras production is not limited to France, either, but it is not only NOT against the law in France, there are laws specifying how it must be done to earn the label. Ducks or geese are fed normally to a certain point. Then in the last two weeks or so before slaughter, they are force fed 2 to 4 times a day, using a tube, funnel, and pneumatic pump. This produces an abnormal accumulation of fat in the liver called "steatosis" and the livers swell to 6-10 times normal size - a delicacy for which diners are willing to pay premium prices.

Also while in vet school, we visited a large egg production operation. The male chicks were culled from the females at a few days of age and dropped, still alive, into large barrels for shipment to a landfill. Laying hens lived, 5 to cage, 3 layers and several rows of cages, in a huge metal building. Standing in the doorway, we could barely see the other end. Several conveyer belts running under the cages delivered a 24/7 river of eggs.

That people are willing to pay premium prices for foie gras, or bet large sums of money on and pay to watch dogs or roosters killing each other, and that people shop for the cheapest eggs and best prices on chicken without questioning production methods are what keeps these things going.

Legislation has helped mitigate some of this abuse, but prosecution in the courts is hampered by poorly written laws, effective defense lawyers, and the difficulty of proving guilt in a trial.

But, right or wrong, a person is not "innocent until proven guilty" in the court of public opinion. I think Michael Vick is more likely to pay a dear price as a result of pressure on sponsors from football fans than he will pay as a result of legal prosecution. You and I can do more than push for legislation, to help end animal abuse.