Dogfighting is on the rise in Louisiana, according to Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officials. It is stunning and almost incomprehensible to think such a barbaric sport could not only exist in the United States, but it is apparently growing in popularity. The popularity of dogfighting in Louisiana only offers the rest of the country another reason to believe the state’s residents have yet to enter the 21st century. While dogfighting is illegal in Louisiana, many people across the state hold clandestine tournaments in garages, abandoned buildings and in wooded, rural areas. Dogfighting is unbelievably cruel because besides the obvious inhumane outcomes such as massive injuries and deaths to fighting dogs, the animals are also subject to treatment that is designed to make them hostile. This hostility effectively makes the animals unable to be adopted and forces a death sentence upon them. Most dogs have to be killed by animal centers, where they eventually end up if they are lucky enough to be rescued from their dogfighting owners. Louisiana is also one of the last two states in the country to allow cockfighting, a similar and equally cruel activity that has lasted far longer than it should in a civilized country. Louisiana often has trouble earning respect from the rest of the country because the state intentionally preserves a unique culture that prides itself on a laissez-faire approach to entertainment. But while some entertainment outlets such as tailgating and massive Mardi Gras celebrations are part of what makes Louisiana what it is, the time has come for dogfighting and cockfighting to be outlawed and harshly punished by law enforcement agencies. There is no excuse for allowing these activities to go on any more, and the longer they last, the more animals will lose their lives and the more ridiculous we will look to the rest of the country. The students of this University have a powerful voice that can enact great change. That voice should be put to use by contacting our legislators and telling them stiff legislation needs to be passed to bring these perverse sports to a halt. The time to bring dogfighting and cockfighting to an end has come, and we are all to blame until these sports are no longer threatening animals in Louisiana.
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