If Convicted, Vick Should Go to Jail

The details of the dog fighting activities based out of a home owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick are disturbing even to the hardest of hearts. An 18 page indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging that Vick and his co-defendants ran a dog fighting compound from a home owned by Vick in Virginia. According to the indictment, they were charged with competitive dog fighting and procuring and training pit bulls for fighting. The so-called "BadNewz Kennel" was founded in Vick's rookie season with the Falcons. If convicted of all the charge, the accused could spend up to six years in jail.

It is my belief that humans have dominion over the animal kingdom. By that I mean that humans should utilize animals for the betterment of mankind. I am not a vegetarian, but I firmly believe that animals should be treated well. Whether they are being raised for food, for work or to be domesticated, humans have the responsibility to treat animals well.

As such, I'm not a big fan of hunting or fishing. I know that the populations of some animals needs to be curtailed - deer, especially - because they can present a danger to humans. However, I don't understand the mind set of the hunter looking forward to the kill. I don't see how someone could view hunting as a sport. Years ago the magazine Sports Illustrated used to run a piece called "Sport/Not a Sport". They'd ask athletes if a particular activity should be called a sport and print their response. Many times it was some fairly under-publicized sport or activity, like curling or hang gliding. One week the question was about whether or not hunting should be considered a sport. I can't recall which athlete it was, but one of the respondents replied, "It's not a sport if one of the participants doesn't know his playing." I thought that was beautiful. My feelings exactly.