Task force focuses on dogfighting

Columbia, SC -- Led by South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, state police agencies have launched an organized campaign to stop dogfighting.

McMaster said the events are increasingly linked to drug dealing. Others say the dogs used for fighting are abused and can attack people. People attending the events also bet heavily on the animals, authorities say.

Since McMaster formed a dogfighting task force this spring, state and local authorities have made criminal cases against at least 28 people suspected of dogfighting or owning equipment used to support it.

Authorities have confiscated at least 187 pit bulls, which are the primary breed used in dogfights. And McMaster's office is preparing to prosecute Lowcountry pit bull breeder David Tant.

If convicted, Tant faces life in prison on 41 counts of violating dogfighting laws.

"This is all secret, never publicized, and it's horrible," McMaster said.

The state began its crackdown on dogfighting in March at the request of animal welfare groups, which have pledged about $60,000 to pay the salary and expenses of a State Law Enforcement Division investigator, agency spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson said.

Last year, the groups conducted a training session on dogfighting for law enforcement agencies and a month later, police made an arrest in Orangeburg County, where deputies found more than 50 dogs and a pit used for dogfights.

Ricky Hanton of Orangeburg pleaded guilty to animal-fighting charges in that case.

"When I looked at one dog with part of his face ripped off, it was morbid," Orangeburg Sheriff Larry Williams said. "It touched me, and it touched my officers. The cruelty to animals for sport, recreation and betting is senseless."

Betting makes the events addictive and pots can easily can exceed $100,000, authorities say.

Orangeburg County resident Charlie Shuler, who he said he has stopped going to fights, was attracted to dogfighting as a teenager, thinking "it was pretty cool."

"You can come back ... and have 60 grand in your pocket," he said.

The fights range from unorganized street brawls to events with promoters who get property for a fight and invite owners to bring dogs for matches.

The groups move frequently to avoid police. People staging fights will announce matches only hours before they start. Dogfighters often meet fans at a central spot, then take them through the countryside before arriving at the fight location.

In one case, a group of people met in Orangeburg County but wound up across the state in Dillon County for the match, said William Frick, the attorney general's dogfighting prosecutor.

The gambling is just one part of the criminal element, McMaster said. Increasingly, drug dealers have gotten involved with dogfighting, sometimes using the dogs to guard crack houses, said Judy Outlaw, a Humane Society official in Greenville.

Dogfighters also make money by breeding champion dogs and selling their puppies for thousands of dollars.

In South Carolina, where the penalty for dogfighting is up to five years in jail or a $5,000 fine, cases have been few and far between.

Hanton's plea, which resulted in a fine and probation, is the only major dogfighting case that has been resolved since McMaster's push began.

But the case against Tant could determine the future of the task force's efforts. Authorities have described Tant as the nation's No. 2 pit bull breeder.

Frick said the case will be a challenge because of the state's inexperience with dogfighting cases. Already, the local animal shelter has spent thousands to house more than 40 of the pit bulls seized from Tant's property. Tant claims the animals are evidence and should be kept alive.

"We can't even house all these dogs in the same building," said Charlie Karesh, president of the board that runs the animal shelter in North Charleston.

 

"the dogs used for fighting are abused and can attack people" hmmmmmmm ill say BS on that one.