$5,000 Reward Offered In Dog, Cock Fights

Humane Society Offering Reward For Info Leading To Arrest

POSTED: 4:50 pm CDT March 24, 2009
UPDATED: 6:34 pm CDT March 24, 2009

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A $5,000 reward is being offered in Kansas for tips leading police to people who put on dog fights and cock fights.

The reward will be given for information leading to an arrest and conviction in animal fighting cases, KMBC's Maria Antonia reported.

The reward is being offered by the Humane Society of the United States. In Kansas, dog fighting is a felony, and cockfighting is a misdemeanor. There is a push to make cockfighting a felony.

Experts say that along with the animal injuries and deaths, there are weapons, drugs and other crimes that often go along with animal fights.

"This exists for two reasons -- blood lust and gambling. Animals are treated as gambling tools," said John Goodwin with the Humane Society.

In the last year, the Humane Society said it has paid out about 35 of those rewards in other parts of the country.

In Wyandotte County, a bait dog named Fletch was picked up by animal control officers about a month ago. Bait dogs are used to train other dogs, often pit bulls, to fight.

Fletch's wounds are healing, and he will be available for adoption, but not in Wyandotte County, where pit bulls are banned.

Anyone who knows anything about Fletch could be up for that $5,000 reward.

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