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YILMAZ ET AL.
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J. Anim. Sci. Adv., 2015, 5(4): 1234-1237
History of Dog Fighting in the World
1Yilmaz O., 2Coskun F. and 3Ertugrul M.
1 Ardahan University, Vocational High School of Technical Sciences, 75000, Ardahan, Turkey.
2 Ahi Evran University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, 40100, Kirsehir, Turkey.
3 Ankara University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, 06110, Ankara, Turkey.
Abstract
Aim of this paper is to summarize historical process of dog fighting which happens almost all over the
World. The history of dog fighting reaches to ancient Roman and Chinese civilizations. Historians showed that
large-scale human migration, development of trade, and gifts between royal courts of valuable fighting dogs
facilitated the spread of fighting dog breeds. Accounts of dog fighting in China date back to 240 A.D.Dog
fighting can also be traced back to the Roman Empire. The Etruscan wall paintings dated about 5th century BC
show scenes of bloody competition between human and dogs. Moreover floor mosaics from Libya celebrate the
Roman arena slaughters with scenes of humans and dogs working together to spill the blood of a wide variety of
other animals such as horses, antelope and wild boar. Romans bred and exported fighting dogs to Spain, France
and other parts of Europe until eventually these dogs made their way back to England. A Staffordshire bull
terrier was brought to North America and dog fighting became part of North America culture in 1817. Dog
fighting had begun to flourish after bull and bear-baiting became illegal in the 1830s.
Keywords: Canis familiaris, pit bull, blood sport, illegal sports, animal fight.
Corresponding author: Ardahan University, Vocational High School of Technical Sciences, 75000, Ardahan, Turkey.
Received on: 08 Mar 2015
Revised on: 18 Mar 2015
Accepted on: 17 Apr 2015
Online Published on: 30 Apr 2015
Review Article
ISSN: 2251-7219
HISTORY OF DOG FIGHTING IN THE WORLD
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J. Anim. Sci. Adv., 2015, 5(4): 1234-1237
Introduction
Domestic livestock animals serve humanity by
giving plenty of products including meat, milk, egg,
honey, floss silk, wool, fur, skin, feather, intestine,
work, amusement etc (Ertugrul et al., 1993).
Moreover some animals have been and continue to
be used for fighting by some mentally abnormal
people. In various regions of the world there are
popular animal fighting events including fighting of
bull, camel, cock, cricket, dog, horse, partridge and
ram (Anon, 2014a). For centuries usually dog
fighting has been principally enjoyed by men.
Unfortunately, the popularity of this activity has
increased. There was little initial interference from
the law, since it was possible to fight two dogs in
any hollow or shed without attracting much
attention, for dogs fight with relatively little noise.
They can easily be removed after the fight, carried
away in sacks if their condition was likely to draw
suspicion (Drable, 2014). For example in USA dog
attacks and bites are not so common (Hussain,
2005). Although more than 20 fatalities happened
each year in USA because of dog biting, there was
no report that a man did during dog fight, but the
dog. Maybe the 20 fatalities because of dog biting
seem as tragic but at least 8.000 humans were killed
by other human each year which was 200 times
more than dog biting deaths (Lockwood, 1995). The
purpose of this review is paper summarize history
of dog fighting in the World.
History
Dog fighting has been documented in the
recorded history of many different cultures, and is
presumed to have existed since the initial
domestication of the species. Historians showed that
large-scale human migration, development of trade,
and gifts between royal courts of valuable fighting
dogs facilitated the spread of fighting dog breeds.
There are many accounts of military campaigns
which used fighting dogs, as well as royal gifts in
the form of large dogs. Accounts of dog fighting in
China date back to 240 A.D (Anon, 2014b). Dog
fighting can also be traced back to the Roman
Empire (Gibson, 2005). The ancient Roman circus
slew African beasts in 13 B.C.As an example, 300
bears and 300 Libyan beasts were slain in the Arena
during ancient Roman (Villavicencio, 2007).
Animals fought each other in the arena, and dogs
were sometimes used against each other. They
could also be companions of gladiators in the arena
(Junkelmann, 2000). The Etruscan wall paintings
dated about 5th century BC show scenes of bloody
competition between human and dogs. Also black
figured vase paintings picturized Greek men
provoking dog fights (Poulson, 1922). Moreover
floor mosaics from Libya celebrate the Roman
arena slaughters with scenes of humans and dogs
working together to spill the blood of a wide variety
of other animals such as horses, antelope and wild
boar (Junkelmann, 2000).
In 43 AD dogs fought alongside the Romans
and the British in the Roman Conquest of Britain.
During this war, the Romans used a breed that
originated from Greece called Molossus and the
Britons used broad-mouth Mastiffs, which were
thought to descend from the Molossus bloodline
and which also originated from Greece. Though the
British were outnumbered and ultimately lost this
war, the Romans were so impressed with the
English Mastiffs that they began to import these
dogs for use in the Arena, as well as for use in times
of war. While spectators watched, the imported
English Mastiffs were pitted against animals such as
wild elephants, lions, bears, bulls, and gladiators
(Villavicencio, 2007). Later the Romans bred and
exported fighting dogs to Spain, France and other
parts of Europe until eventually these dogs made
their way back to England. Baiting became a
popular pastime throughout Western Europe, as
accounts exist of fights between dogs and bulls
throughout the Middle Ages up to the 19th century
in some European countries including Germany,
France, Spain, Portugal, and Holland (Massey,
2012).Blood sportssuch as bull baiting, bear baiting
and cock fighting were common in Europe before
the 19th century. Bulls brought to market were set
upon by dogs as a way of tenderizing the meat and
providing entertainment for the spectators, and dog
fights with bears, bulls and other animals were often
organized as entertainment for both royalty and
commoners (Anon, 2014b, Ensminger, 2014). In the
early days of dog fighting in England, the Old
English Bulldog and the Bull and Terrier Dog
which were both now extinct were the breeds of
YILMAZ ET AL.
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J. Anim. Sci. Adv., 2015, 5(4): 1234-1237
choice for this brutal blood sport (Anon, 2014c).
Although there are historical accounts of dog fights
going back to the 1750s, widespread activity
emerged after the Civil War (Ensminger, 2010). A
Staffordshire Bull Terrier was brought to North
America and dog fighting became part of North
America culture in 1817 (Boucher, 2011). Many of
the fighting dogs were imported from England and
Ireland to USA, as dog fighting had begun to
flourish after bull-baiting and bear-baiting became
illegal in the 1830s (Ensminger, 2014). Professional
fighting pits were proliferated in the 1860s, mainly
in the Northeast. Henry Bergh who was founder of
the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (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 arrest powers in New York (Anon, 2014c;
Ensminger, 2014). In twentieth century dog fighting
went on to flourish underground in America. Aiding
in the expansion of dog fighting were the police and
firemen, who saw dog fighting as a form of
entertainment amongst their ranks. Even the Police
Gazette served as a "go to" source for information
about where one could attend a fight (Boucher,
2011).
Conclusion
It is too difficult to understand that some
people defend dog fighting. According to those
abnormal people dog fights are necessary and
should be carried out (Gasimzadeh, 2014). This
kind of people is rare in community but they are
always present in the community and always will
be. The most important thing to prevent dog
fighting is inform related police or gendarme forces.
Also penalties should be more increased.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank John Ensminger and Marc
Paulhus for their constructive comments, careful
scientific revision and English edit.
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