Grisly from start to finish, fox penning begins when the steel jaws of a leg hold trap snap shut on a coyote or fox, inflicting terrible pain. A trapper removes the animal from the trap and packs her into a cage with other injured animals, transports and sells the animal to pen operators. The animals are routinely sold and transported across state lines to operators of pens. The caged animals may be hauled hundreds of miles. With no food or water, some animals die on the trip.
Once bought by pen operators, the foxes and coyotes are placed inside fenced enclosures with no chance of escape. Dogs tear the captive animal apart, mauling it to death, and this provides amusement for participants who travel from state to state to wager on their dogs.
Today, these pens operate in 19 Southern and a few Midwestern states. Enclosures can range from 15 acres to more than 1,000 acres. North Carolina has about 110 of these arenas, South Carolina some 130, Georgia more than 60 and Virginia around 40.
Pitting one animal against another in bloody combat is cruel and unethical - and no different than dog fighting or cockfighting. We demand that this barbaric blood "sport" be illegal in all 50 states. Pass a Federal law and make penning a felony crime.
Grisly from start to finish, fox penning begins when the steel jaws of a leg hold trap snap shut on a coyote or fox, inflicting terrible pain. A trapper removes the animal from the trap and packs her into a cage with other injured animals, transports and sells the animal to pen operators. The animals are routinely sold and transported across state lines to operators of pens. The caged animals may be hauled hundreds of miles. With no food or water, some animals die on the trip.
Once bought by pen operators, the foxes and coyotes are placed inside fenced enclosures with no chance of escape. Dogs tear the captive animal apart, mauling it to death, and this provides amusement for participants who travel from state to state to wager on their dogs.
Today, these pens operate in 19 Southern and a few Midwestern states. Enclosures can range from 15 acres to more than 1,000 acres. North Carolina has about 110 of these arenas, South Carolina some 130, Georgia more than 60 and Virginia around 40.
Pitting one animal against another in bloody combat is cruel and unethical - and no different than dog fighting or cockfighting. We demand that this barbaric blood "sport" be illegal in all 50 states. Pass a Federal law and make penning a felony crime.
