I don't think anyone would know about dog fighting on ST Thomas unless they were a participant in the blood sport. Do you think anyone on the mainland knew about Vick's (NFL Star) hobby. Do you think the USVI Govt would condone this? Do you think Vick would take his dogs to St Thomas to fight or just fight them in the states? Do you think the people in the States should move to Canada because criminals broke the law within the boundaries of their Sovereign State. Did you know that cockfighting is legal in Puerto Rico and Louisiana to date. To answer your question call Vick he might know, because I don't.

I'm not sure what you're asking, Breck but yes, there is dog fighting in the US Virgin Islands and yes it is illegal. Since the animal cruelty bill was finally passed almost two years ago the penalties are quite severe. Many dogfighting operations have been closed down over the years and I believe the "sport" has certainly been severely curtailed. However, the few participants in this outrage remain very clever, setting up their operation stages deep in the bush in undeveloped areas.

Despite the efforts of the Humane Society and the population in general, cockfighting is not yet illegal in the US Virgin Islands. Passing the animal cruelty bill took many years of hard work by many people and it was just a few years ago that it failed to pass because it included cockfighting and a couple of senators who fancied that "sport" stymied the whole thing. In an effort to get the bill passed, cockfighting was excluded when the bill was once again presented to the Legislature. The Humane Society concurred that getting the main bill passed was crucial and if achieving that result meant excluding cockfighting then so be it, and the cockfighting issue could be introduced again in the future as an amendment.

The passing of the animal cruelty bill was a major achievement brought about by many people over many years. Notwithstanding my previous position as a President of the Humane Society of St Thomas and my continuing efforts on its behalf, I can tell you from a personal standpoint that the problem of roaming stray dogs has seen a drastic reduction since the bill was passed just in my own neighborhood. The community now has legislation in place to back up complaints of animal abuse, roaming animals, etc. which carries great psychological impact. The authorities are now empowered to not only investigate complaints but to file charges and this has had a great impact.

I did read the letter which you cited when it appeared in the local media and wondered then whether the writer was aware of the passing of the animal cruelty bill.

I'm probably not saying any of this very well but I suppose I just wanted to answer your initial query (whatever it was!) and I guess to say that this small population doesn't stick its head into the sand on major issues, as several visitors sometimes suggest.

No, dear visitors, you won't ever see dogfighting here and you'll never even see cockfighting either unless you specifically ask for a recommendation of a place to go and even then you'd find only a very few who would steer you to the ONE place on St Thomas - and you really wouldn't want to go there!

Rome wasn't built in a day. Change came slowly. There is much that goes on behind the scenes here as anywhere and without grandiose media attention... Cheers and have a good night!

Resident--

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that my question was unclear. I read that letter and had never heard of animal fighting going on in the VI. I wondered if the info in the letter was credible. I appreciate the work that you do.

Breck, you question was completely clear to me. Yes, there is something to the article unfortunately.

Some wonderful people worked hard on the animal cruelty bill. The article's warning, in my opinion, still stands, because the practice still goes on illegally. Like the author of the article, I've lived here 5 years, and I often see people 'training' dogs for this torture. The person who responded that tourists won't see it directly is right. You do have to ask to find the fights, but they are likely to see the signs of it from the 'training' that goes on. Plus, if they are a culturally-curious visitor, it won't take long to find a resident who participates who will talk about it without an ounce of shame. I had a high school student at an expensive private school tell me about how his fighting dog ran away. I told him, "Good, I hope he found a loving home with an owner that won't torture him."

I interpret the opinion editorial writer's warning to be that St. Thomas better work harder to enforce that dog fighting is illegal or it is likely to adversely affect our tourism, in addition to allowing dogs to be tortured. I think the warning was insightful and well-intended both for dogs and for the people of St. Thomas.

Since everyone has recently become aware of the "sport" of dog-fighting in the VI's they should take a look in their own back yards first. The media finally noticing animal abuse is a good thing but they might turn their eyes to two Presidential candidates, one who puts his dog on the roof of his car for a 12-hour ride and tells of hosing the feces off the car and the other braggs about his wife using dogs to demonstrate the use of surgical staples and when their usefullness is over, being euthenized. Dog-fighting is illegal but why are other animal abuses ignored?

The truth is that dog fighting exists almost everywhere and is illegal almost everywhere. If you plan on traveling ONLY to cities/states/countries where there is no dog fighting -- well, you can plan on saving a lot of $$$$.

And the truth is that no casual tourist will ever see dog fighting in the USVI or anywhere else.