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Dogfighting, the “sport” where dogs are bred and trained to fight each other to the death, is a felony in all 50 states — but it’s still a crime that appears to be both relatively common and infrequently prosecuted.
Rebecca Corry, an actress, comic and writer, is trying to change that — in the Los Angeles area, at least.
Through her nonprofit Stand Up for Pits Foundation, which was also responsible for last year’s Million Pibble March on Washington, Corry has launched a new tip line — 877-777-2585 — allowing individuals in Los Angeles County to confidentially report incidents of dogfighting that they witness or suspect.
Their incentive? A reward of up to $5,000 provided by the Humane Society of the United States in the event of an arrest or conviction as the result of a tip provided through the line, which launched on July 1.
“It sickens me to my core that animals would be forced, and that’s the word, forced, to fight to the death for money, entertainment or human pleasure in any way,” Corry told The Huffington Post. “It’s absolutely disgusting and it’s everywhere, being done by all kinds of people, all over the place. It’s time to end it, period.”
Though other existing tip lines — like CrimeStoppers and the HSUS’s national dogfighting tip line — already allow citizens to alert law enforcement to suspected animal abuse including dogfighting (and if a dogfight in progress is witnessed, a 911 call should be made), the Stand Up for Pits line takes a slightly different approach.
Covering only the immediate Los Angeles County area, the tip line allows private investigators working with the organization to look into tips they receive in an effort to determine if a tip is legitimate and to provide more thorough information to law enforcement.
Receiving a more comprehensive tip can make a big difference for time-crunched law enforcement, Christine Murray, a retired police officer who works as one of the line’s two investigators, explained to HuffPost.
“Our hope is to kind of vet the tips and have an investigator look at what they’ve got to determine if the tips are workable,” Murray said. “So we can serve up to law enforcement a very robust tip rather than a vague one, to show them that this is one you want to work because it has potential and it’s not just a dog barking call.”
The tip line, which is funded through charity comedy events and the sales of apparel on the organization’s website, is also operated not as an answering service but, instead, with live operators answering calls that come in around the clock.
These are key differences that make Deborah Knaan, head of the animal cruelty division at Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, confident that Corry’s line could succeed where other efforts have fallen short. Knaan was consulted by Corry as she went about building the line, a process that took about a year.
“It’s very localized which means it’s going to get a lot of attention by the people working the tips and the people working the tips will be very familiar with LA County,” Knaan told HuffPost.
Because dogfighting operations operate in an underground economy, it is practically impossible to know exactly how pervasive the problem is, but the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates that tens of thousands of people are involved with the practice in the U.S. and many officials believe that number may be climbing.
According to Chris Schindler, HSUS animal rescue team manager of animal fighting response, the organization’s tip line is receiving a steadily climbing number of tips each year and is on pace to surpass 5,000 tips for the first time this year.
While dogfighting cases come up in a diverse set of settings — urban, rural and everything in between — the Los Angeles area appears to be home to more than its fair share of it.
Over the past 10 years, felony dogfighting charges have been filed against 16 defendants in the county, according to data from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
In a high-profile case late last year, Pauline Winbush, an assistant superintendent at Palmdale Unified School District, was charged along with her boyfriend with four felony counts of dogfighting, 17 felony counts of animal cruelty and one felony count of child abuse. Winbush pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in the case wherein investigators found almost 20 injured or malnourished pit bulls and a dead puppy and other animals at the couple’s home in Lancaster.
At a statewide level, California is home to among the highest number of dogfighting cases in recent years in the nation.
The degree to which the tip line is successful in combatting all of that depends, of course, on how many people become aware of it.
“A lot of times people know it is happening in their community but are afraid to report,” Knaan said. “And until somebody reports, nothing can be done.”
Since the line began, Corry said they’ve already received viable tips and she hopes that trend will continue. Corry plans to promote the number through billboard ads and the distribution of flyers in communities and animal shelters in the months ahead. In addition, all of the county’s 100 Animal Care and Control trucks are, as of earlier this month, sporting the tip line number.
It’s with good reason that the tip line is a priority for the county.
Marcia Mayeda, the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control director, explained that they are supporting the line not only because of the viciousness of the fighting and the effect it has on the dogs, but also on the documented connections between dogfighting and other forms of animal abuse and crimes directed at humans such as domestic abuse, child abuse and sexual violence. Illegal drugs and gambling are also commonly connected with dogfighting cases.
“Dogfighting is just part of a larger situation in which animals and people are harmed,” Mayeda said.
While a range of dog breeds are used for fighting, pit bulls and pit bull-type dogs are most at risk of becoming victims of the practice in the U.S., according to the ASPCA.
Even when dogs are rescued from a fighting operation, they often require significant rehabilitation before they are able to be safely housed and must be evaluated before an adoption is even considered.
But even with all the obstacles, it is all worth it to Corry, who hopes to see others create similarly localized tip lines on the issue in the future.
“We believe that if every county and state had a tip line running, people would know what to do and communities would empower themselves to get animal abusers arrested and put away, which is where they belong,” Corry added. “You’ve got some seriously broken people with some serious issues and these dogs are the voiceless victims of it. They’re helpless.”
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