Police Think 12 Dogs Found in Blighted Area May Have Died in Underground Fighting Rings

More possible evidence of illegal dog fighting was found in Michigan this week after a dozen dead animals were found in trash bags in a blighted area of Flint.

Flint spokesman Jason Lorenz told MLive/The Flint Journal that it is “a definite possibility” that the dogs were used in fighting.

“Not much else is known right now, but they are looking into all possibilities,” Lorenz told the newspaper.

The dogs were believed to be pit bulls, which the Humane Society of the United States says is the most common dog used in fighting, but it’s unknown how the dogs died, officials said.

The area where the dogs were found, in the 1200 block of Rankin Street near Forest HIll Avenue, has no occupied housing. Blight elimination officers were in the area to clean up Trash, tires and furniture are strewn on the side of the street when they found the dead dogs, the report said.

Dog fighting is a national problem, and groups such as the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Humane Society have been combating dog fighting and raising awareness for years. Bets are placed on which animal will survive the fight.

The problem is so pervasive in Michigan that in 2012,  Gov. Rick Snyder signed the toughest anti-dog-fighting legislation in the country, making the offense punishable by up to 20 years in jail and fines of $100,000. Dogfighting was a felony prior to the legislation, but carrying a four-year-jail sentence and a maximum fine of $50,000.

Last week, an animal welfare group said it had found dozens of dead dogs in Detroit’s River Rouge Park, but Detroit police officials later said that report was “highly embellished.”

The Genesee County Humane Society is also looking into the discovery of the dead dogs in Flint.