Editorial: A cruel and unusual act

Saturday, July 21, 2007 | 7:22 a.m.

A tlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's indictment on federal charges related to a professional dog-fighting operation will , we hope, serve to raise the level of awareness of such vicious crimes.

A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Vick and three others Tuesday, alleging that the men created a kennel to breed and fight pit bulls . Although the men are only charged and have not been convicted, the indictment covers a series of disturbing events.

Vick has said he had no connection with the operation and blamed family members who lived on the property, but the grand jury alleges that Vick was an integral part of the operation, buying property in rural Virginia in 2001 for what would become Bad Newz Kennels. The property allegedly became not just a kennel and breeding operation, but also a site for illegal fights, complete with thousands of dollars in prize money.

The indictment includes incredibly disturbing acts of violence against the animals. Dogs were tested to see if they were tough enough to fight. Those that did not meet the men's expectations were executed, as were dogs that performed poorly in the ring. The indictment alleges that dogs were shot, electrocuted, hanged and drowned.

The dozens of animals that law enforcement officials took from Vick's property in April were slated to be put down because they could not be retrained into civil animals.

Dog fighting is terribly cruel, yet it has become a multimillion-dollar business because a subculture that finds a perverse thrill in the bloodshed thrives in America. What is done in the name of "sport" is tragic.

There are, unfortunately, cases like this everywhere, but they garner little public attention. We hope the Vick indictment will hold Americans' attention long enough for us to fully comprehend the horror of dog fighting and why it should never be tolerated.