How Has the ASPCA Combated Dog Fighting Through the Years?
Henry Bergh, founder of the ASPCA, was particularly repulsed by the brutality of the dog fighting he saw in New York and elsewhere. His 1867 revision of the state’s animal cruelty law made all forms of animal fighting illegal for the first time, including bull, bear, dog and cockfighting. The involvement of regular police in dog fighting activities was one of the reasons Bergh sought and received authority for the ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement Agents to have arresting powers in New York.
