Attending a dogfight in the District would become a felony under a bill before the D.C. Council today.
The maximum penalty would be five years in prison under the legislation, which was written by the George Washington University Law School’s Animal Welfare Project and makes changes to existing animal-cruelty laws.
“Dogfighting is an extremely serious issue,” said Joan Shaffner, a professor at the law school who worked on the bill and is scheduled to testify before the council today. “It promotes lots of other crime.”
Washington Humane Society official Adam Parascandola said the number of calls for dogfighting has recently declined.
He said the agency, which handles the city’s animal-control programs, receives five to 10 calls a week, compared with four or five a day during the past several years.
“It’s definitely reduced from a few years ago,” Mr. Parascandola said. “It’s unfortunate it’s still prevalent in the District.”
Attending a dogfight is a misdemeanor in 27 states, including Maryland, Virginia and the District, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
Participating in a dogfight is a felony in the District and in all but two states — Idaho and Wyoming, where it is misdemeanor, according to the Humane Society. In most states, owning dogs for fighting also is a felony.
Mr. Parascandola said officials now find it difficult to prove who owns the dogs found at fights and who was at a fight because participants scatter during busts.
Miss Shaffner said that under the proposed bill, for prosecutors to win a felony conviction they would need only to prove a person was at a fight.
“Enforcement is a huge problem,” she said. “Even if you are able to identify some of the people who were at the event, everybody says they were there as a spectator.”
Experts say the activity takes places mostly in rural areas, but is increasing in urban centers, particularly among gang members. They also say dogfighting is associated with other crimes, such as drug and weapon offenses.
The hearing on the bill today coincides with an investigation of NFL quarterback Michael Vick and his purported involvement with dogfighting.
In April, 66 dogs, mostly pit bulls, along with dogfighting equipment, were seized from a house in Surry County, Va., owned by Mr. Vick and occupied by his cousin.
A Metropolitan Police Department spokesman said there is no citywide data on dogfight arrests. Calls made to several D.C. police districts were not returned.
Spokesmen in Fairfax and Arlington counties and in Alexandria said there have been no dogfighting cases in at least the last 10 years or longer.
“We’ve never charged anyone with it,” said Officer Camille Neville, a Fairfax County Police Department spokeswoman. “It’s not an organized thing in Fairfax County.”
The city of Fairfax gives animal-control officers the discretion to summon pet owners to court to determine whether a dog is a public threat. The court can order the confinement of dangerous animals and the euthanizing of those deemed to be vicious.
The District, the city of Alexandria, and Arlington and Montgomery counties have similar regulations.
Prince George’s County bans owning pit bulls, but they are legal in the District and in other local counties. Prince George’s County officials could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Parascandola said fight dogs seized in the District are given tests to assess whether they can be adopted. They are euthanized if badly hurt.
Animal specialists say dogfighting has led to a misconception about pit bulls, the breed most often used in organized dogfighting.
“Pit bulls are good to have because they’re generally stable,” said John Goodwin of the Humane Society of the United States, adding many people get the dogs because of the tough image associated with them.
Mr. Goodwin said the breed of pit bulls used in dogfighting are products of centuries of breeding the most “dog-aggressive” game dogs and that most pit bulls make safe pets.
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