S’Plain To Me, Lucy

Just when you think you’ve heard every possible permutation of human cruelty and idiocy, along comes this, from Alabama (dated 12/21/04):

“Two people were arrested and seven dogs seized Friday in Warrior as part of a four-state crackdown of "hog-dog" animal fighting, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office…
In those events, a dog - usually a pit or American bulldog - and a hog or wild boar with its tusks removed are put in a pen, and they fight until the dog forces the hog to the ground. Both animals typically suffer major injuries in the fight, according to the South Carolina attorney general's office.
Federal and state authorities are working with the Humane Society of the United States to combat hog-dog fighting in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia and South Carolina…
In Alabama, it is illegal to hold fights between two dogs, but there is no law preventing fights between a dog and another species…”

And from South Carolina (dated 12/22/04):

“South Carolina investigators found out about the bloody sport, called a “hog-dog rodeo,” while conducting a statewide probe of illegal dog-fighting during the past year, said William Frick, the state lawyer prosecuting three Chester County residents accused of involvement in hog-dog matches.
The state participated in an interstate probe of the fights, which led to arrests last weekend. Authorities made raids in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Arizona and arrested at least seven people…
The object is to see how fast the dog, usually a pit bull, can pull the wild boar to the ground.
Unlike organized rodeos pitting cowboys against cattle, pit bulls usually maim or injure the hogs as they bite the animals to pull them to the ground. To make sure the dogs aren’t hurt, event organizers saw off the razor-sharp tusks of wild hogs.
People watch the sport, place bets and cheer as the pit bull attacks the hog.
Humane Society investigator Steve Stephenson said making the case against them might be more difficult than in a dog-fighting case...
That’s because it is legal in South Carolina to hunt wild boar with dogs. So people charged with coaxing dogs to attack hogs could claim they are merely training the animals to hunt boar in the wild…”

In the arrests in Arizona, charges filed against the perps also included weapon and child abuse charges (big surprise).

Where I live there has been an ongoing problem with cockfights and dogfights, which is bad enough, but this is a whole new dimension. Can there be a more degraded and cowardly form of human behavior?

Don’t answer that.