Upstream | April 25, 2011 | 147 comments

Dogfighting Phone App "Cruel," "Sickening," Says LAPD Union Chief

source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/lapd-union-head-blasts-android-dog-fighting-ph...

Image
EthicalVegan
Los Angeles Times...


Dogfighting phone app called 'cruel,' 'sickening' by LAPD union chief [Updated]

April 25, 2011 | 11:21 am

The head of the Los Angeles police union said Monday that a dogfighting game application for cellphones should be yanked from the market because it glorifies illegal activity and promotes "cruel and immoral" behavior.

Paul M. Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said he was particularly concerned that the Dog Wars game created by Kage Games would be embraced by local gang members and encourage them to engage in dogfighting.

"It's sickening, absolutely sickening," Weber said. "They should take it down immediately. These animals are defenseless. It's absolutely the wrong message to send to our children."

The Dog Wars app for the Android smart phone operating system encourages players to "Raise your dog to beat the best" and allows players to train a virtual pit bull to fight other virtual dogs and build street cred that "puts money in your pocket and lets you earn more in fights."

The company's website notes that the game player has a "gun for police raids and can inject the dog with steroids."

The Humane Society of the United States also released a statement urging Android to drop Dog Wars from its applications and calling the game "a step backward."
The humane society and other animal rights groups have been trying to educate the public about the dangers of professional and street dogfighting in the wake of the federal conviction of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick in connection with a dogfighting ring at his former Virginia residence.

"Because Dog Wars actually instructs players on how to condition a dog using methods that are true to organized dogfighting, this game may be a training ground for young people to try the activity in the real world, encouraging cruelty to dogs and leading young people down a dead-end path," said Wayne Pacelle, the humane society's chief executive.

[Updated 1:30 p.m.: Michael Vick issued a statement Monday critical of Dog Wars. “I’ve come to learn the hard way that dog-fighting is a dead-end street,” Vick said in the statement. “Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app.”]

An email to Kage Games was not immediately returned, but the creators have responded to criticism in an online statement, saying it is not illegal and other games on the video market include crime or killing as part of the gaming experience.

"Just because something is illegal in real life in certain countries, does not mean it is illegal to make a song, movie, or video game about it," company officials said in the statement.
  1. groups:
    Community,   Culture,   Random,   Current Tonight,   20 more
  2. tags:
    Google,  Violence,  animal cruelty,  Animal Abuse,  24 more
  3.     
    |

147 comments // Dogfighting Phone App "Cruel," "Sickening," Says LAPD Union Chief

  • Jake_Leonard
    • +1
      Jake_Leonard  

    • It's amazing what we accept socially, and do not. We cannot have a dog fighting application, promoting "cruel and immoral behavior," yet how many first person shooters are out there exploiting wars involving America, as well as others? There are games on serial killers, the mafia, and just plain carnage (those who remember State of Emergency on the xbox know what I'm talking about). Some have pivotal points dealing with execution, assassination, and drug use. In a game like counter-strike, I can be a "terrorist" and "plant the bomb." So long as these games have a rating, it's okay, though.

      It's not that I'm taking a stance "for" or "against" games mimicking illegal activities--it isn't real after all. Just remarking on the inconsistency.

    • 2 years ago
  • ThirdSection
    • +2
      ThirdSection  

    • Unlike some smartphone operating systems, Android exercises no editorial control over what software is and is not available for it. This means the end user is responsible for making her/his own decisions over what is and is not objectionable. So, if you find Dog Wars abhorrent, don't play it.

    • 2 years ago
  • Stoneyroad
    • +4
      Stoneyroad  

    • Really ? ! ? !
      There's an App for that ?

      What's next, a pedophile app called "Get In The Car",
      where players get vitual cash (lolipop points) for each child they lure into their van?

    • 2 years ago
  • August_K
    • +3
      August_K  
    • Stoneyroad:

      It wasn't an app, but there was a book on Amazon about how to "Groom" kids prior to molesting them. Amazon took it down (after some pressure). Last I read was that the guy that wrote it was being investigated.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • jpvt
    • -1
      jpvt  

    • I'm completely against dog fighting and animal cruelty, but I firmly believe video games should be protected under the First Amendment. There are games like Grand Theft Auto, where you kill cops and steal cars. There are games where you are a soldier blowing away enemy combatants. There are all sorts of games that contain excessive, brutal violence. There is even a game where you can try and shoot JFK from the warehouse window! Are there some connections to game violence and real life? Yes, there are a few, but no more than movies or TV. 99.9% of avid gamers do not act out the fantasies they play in their games.

      The notion of a dog fighting game is sick, but at face value so are the GTA games, and all the of hundreds of first person shooters. But the fact is when you play the GTA games the "horribly offensive violence" is presented in a way that is in many ways, balanced by cultural satire. The game series is clearly a product of the culture, not making culture. I have no idea what the context Dog Wars is presented in, but it certainly doesn't look satirical, but I seriously doubt it will lead to an actual increase in dog fighting, just like GTA didn't lead to actual increase in car jackings. Dog Wars looks like an offensive and terrible game, but the First Amendment needs to apply to games as much as it does to any other medium.

    • 2 years ago
  • letsliveinpeace
    • +2
      letsliveinpeace  
    • jpvt:

      Agreed I am against dog fighting,animal cruelty and violence in video game, some people like them and some don't. When children play extremely violent video games it can lend them to believe this is a way to solve problems. This is not acceptable tolerance problem solving is the preferred way, Guns are not, and people are not "targets"

    • 2 years ago
  • tverdell
    • -1
      tverdell  

    • It is very painful for me to say this, but I disagree with banning this game as I said below, but I do feel your pain EV.

      I have a pitt bull mix that was raised for fighting. The poor dog is still terrified and confused. If he sees a bright light he just freaks out. He also has a few scars.

      Yet at the same time he has bitten 3 people, all of them came unexpectantly onto my property. He never broke the skin on any of them, he just left teeth marks. So I know he is aware that he doesn't want to hurt anybody. But somebody tried to make him a killer.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +4
      EthicalVegan  
    • tverdell:

      http://bestfriends.org

      Humans are the reason pit bulls (and other dogs) behave violently, for the most part. And yes, it is very, very painful.

      Working with rescuing all sorts of voiceless beings, I see pain more often than not, and I also see the psychological aftermath, which is pitiful.

      Please check out Best Friends Animal Society (bestfriends.org) -- when and if you have some time -- and read up on all the rehabilitation work that went on, and still goes on, with many of the Michael Vick rescues. It's unbelievably touching.

      I'm so sorry about what your own pit bull buddy has been through. Please give him a special hug for me, okay? [And I'm one of those who blindly was always terrified of pit bulls most of my life. I had to be educated, too.]

      Oh, and as you undoubtedly already know, almost ALL dogs will behave aggressively to a trespasser -- after all, it's THEIR homes, not ours, right?

    • 2 years ago
  • tverdell
    • 0
      tverdell  
    • EthicalVegan:

      Yeah, but I think pit bulls , rottie, mastiff, etc owners are a bit defensive about their dogs.

      I have owned lots of dogs, various breeds.

      My labs would never bite anyone, even if you hit them over the head with a stick.

      Make no mistake, some breeds are simply more aggressive.

      For example, I would never, ever let my pitt bull anywhere near children. At the dog park, if kids come, I leave.

      I have no such concerns with a lab or golden retriever.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • DeistofSurreal
    • -1
      DeistofSurreal  

    • Kinda touchy subject really. I mean yes its a cruel game and really should not be used but, it is not any different than grand theft auto vice city, or other killing games in the end to be honest. If we can get past the violence we have (which will never happen) than it would mean this game will be pulled off the market immediately. As of right now I see that it would stay on the market cause majority of people find no problem if it is a virtual animal and not a real one being tortured. I know kinda cruel but its just logic :/

    • 2 years ago
  • Leen61
    • +4
      Leen61  

    • Whether it's dogs or people, violence shouldn't be on a phone app. Just like I'm against the video war game apps because it's breeding sadistic killers among our youth. They have been de-sensitized to violence. War kills people--just like dog fighting kills dogs.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
    • +5
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/04/25/dog-fighting-videogame-draws-fire-from...

      The Wall Street Journal...

      April 25, 2011, 4:00 PM ET

      Dog Fighting Videogame Draws Fire From Humane Society, Michael Vick

      By Dawn Fallik

      Kage Games

      A new Android video game in which players cybertrain their virtual dogs to fight has some animal lovers in an uproar. Critics, including the Humane Society and NFL star Michael Vick, are calling for Android to pull the game and for Google to forbid similar releases on its platform.

      The “Dog Wars” tag line reads “Raise Your Dog to Beat the Best,” and it was originally released on March 8, 2011 according to the Android Market website. Players can buy shock collars to help train their virtual dogs.

      “Feed, water, train and FIGHT your virtual dog against other player’s (sic)” reads the website offering the free download, created by Kage Games, LLC.

      But Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said this isn’t a game. Instead, he said, it encourages cruelty to dogs and could be a training ground for young people to try pitting dogs against each other in real life.

      “We want to inoculate kids against dog fighting,” he said Monday. “It’s horrible.”

      Pacelle and Michael Vick have issued a statement against the game. Vick, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles football team, served 21 months in jail for his role in a dog-fighting ring.

      In a statement to the Journal, Vick said the Humane Society brought the app to his attention, and that he’s listened to many at-risk children talk about their experiences with dogfighting in their neighborhoods. “This app just sends the wrong message,” Vick said.

      In a statement, Kage Games said that the company did not “condone violence towards animals or humans, and we are confident in humankind’s ability to distinguish between a rudimentary game and the consequences of real life.”

      Kage also said that it intended for a portion of the proceeds from the game to go to animal rescue organizations and that the release was in their view “a satire about the ridiculousness of dogfighting.”

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +4
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/steve-dale-pet-world/2011/04/facebook-pages-have...

      Chicago Now...

      There's a Dog War Going On

      Steve Dale on 04.25.11 at 1:51 PM | no comments |

      dog-wars.jpg

      Facebook pages have been set up to petition against this application
      Dog fighting isn't a game, and it's not a sport - it's a felony, and a crime of horrific nearly unspeakable violence.
      P1050184.JPG

      I have so many issues with the app - one is the way which dogs are abused in the game, and another the way myths about Pit Bull type dogs are further accentuated. Here's the truth - they can be the best family dogs on the planet.

      The idea that a telephone app game glorifies dog fighting is abhorrent to me. It's an Android application called Dog Wars (developed by Kage Games LLC).

      Worse - while meant for players with "high maturity," there's nothing stopping children from downloading. Of course, was pointed out on my Facebook page, someone with high maturity would never be interested in wasting time in this manner.

      I downloaded the app - and in my opinion, it celebrates fighting dogs and all the corresponding cruelty.
      Mike McConnell, WGN Radio.jpg

      Mike McConnell, WGN Radio
      I believe it should be taken off the market. And that's what I'll be talking about tomorrow (April 26) 11:05 AM CDT with Mike McConnell, at WGN Radio (720 AM). (Likely you can call in - and you can comment too!)

      I admit the argument isn't black and white...the overwhelming majority who have read my previous blog post about the app, and who commented on my Facebook Fan Page or emailed privately do agree with me, others contend the gamers have a right to free speech. And as horrible as dog fighting is, there are lots of games out there which people shoot one another. It should be an interesting discussion.
      pitbullpuppy003.jpg

      What really happens in dog fights...and, of course, it can get much worse than this.

      It seems now there is an online Dog War - on one side, my blog post and this blog post by Sloane Quealy-Miner on BSL News, and dozens of other posts, and Facebook petition pages with countless signatures at this point. Even the head of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, Paul M. Weber, is speaking out. This is from L.A. Now:

      It's sickening, absolutely sickening," Weber said. "They should take it down immediately. These animals are defenseless. It's absolutely the wrong message to send to our children."

      On the other side of the war, so far, Android (owned by Google) isn't pulling the App. And, it could be, Dog Wars is profiting from the publicity.

      Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/steve-dale-pet-world/2011/04/facebook-pages-have...

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
    • +3
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/04/dog_wars_android_app_lets_you.php

      L.A. Weekly...

      crime

      'Dog Wars' Android App Lets You 'Juice' Your Dog, Shoot Police; Real-Life Police Not Amused

      By Simone Wilson, Mon., Apr. 25 2011 @ 1:33PM
      Categories: crime

      android2011041311063336.jpg
      androidsoftware.us

      ​Much in the same way the iPhone "Smuggle Truck" app set immigrant-rights groups into a tither, L.A. police (along with the nation's top animal-rights activists) are now fuming over a dogfighting app for Android called "Dog Wars."

      It's just a game, sure...

      ... but as far as games go, this one's quite the fire-starter: Its product description encourages players to use a "gun for police raids" and "inject the dog with steroids," according to the Los Angeles Times.

      Lovely! Here's what LAPD union head Paul Weber has to say about that:

      [Weber] said Monday that a dogfighting game application for cellphones should be yanked from the market because it glorifies illegal activity and promotes "cruel and immoral" behavior.

      [He] said he was particularly concerned that the Dog Wars game created by Kage Games would be embraced by local gang members and encourage them to engage in dogfighting.

      "It's sickening, absolutely sickening," Weber said. "They should take it down immediately. These animals are defenseless. It's absolutely the wrong message to send to our children."

      Basically, players raise and train a virtual pitbull, then enter him in matches against other fighter dogs in exchange for cash money/"street cred." It's released at a sensitive time for dogfighting discourse, if you will, after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was recently busted for heading one such ring. (And now even Vick wants the app pulled! Perfect shortcut to redemption.) L.A. County is no stranger to the brutal practice, either: 17 hurting pitbulls were just rescued from one gnarly setup in Lake Los Angeles.

      ​In the incoherent words of the Dog Wars creators:

      "Puppy MMA ultimate fighting DUFC with ghetto rap music background and hood rat thug 3d rendered and cartoonized graphics - buy weapons, juice your dog, get bling - tamagotchi has nothing on this virtual pet - rated higher maturity level than jersey shore!!!"

      Huh. Is "maturity level" really the rating system we should be using when talking "Jersey Shore" and handheld dogfighting?

      Here's the Kage Games response in full:

      1. It is just A VIDEO GAME
      2. Perhaps one day we will make gerbil wars or beta fish wars for people who can't understand fantasy role play games
      3. Just because something is illegal in real life in certain countries, does not mean it is illegal to make a song, movie, or video game about it (looking at you XDA Developer Forums... deleting our beta testing thread and banning our account?!)
      4. Just go slingshot some virtual birds to kill some virtual pigs.
      5. Go complain to someone who cares about Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Weed Farmer, Smoke a Bowl (these two are listed in the top 15 of casual games on Android Market) and maybe even Sierra's Leisure Suit Larry from 1987.
      6. This is listed as a HIGH MATURITY app, and does NOT violate the Terms of Use with the Google market in any way!!!

      So now we know the level of reasoning we're dealing with here. But the bedroom company's First Amendment-waving founders have got a point: Where do you draw the line?

      For L.A. police, that line would probably be, uh, shooting them. The whole defenseless-puppy thing doesn't help either. Unfortunately, as is always the case with widely decried controversies, Dog Wars' total downloads will probably reach 1 million this week. Sigh.

    • 2 years ago
  • Persecuted
    • -1
      Persecuted  

    • i am the first to say that dog fighting is disgusting... its heart breaking... but this is a GAME... lets keep it in perspective... games depict beating prostitutes, stealing cars, i play aquarium on facebook, that doesnt mean im going to build an elaborate aquarium display. i play pot farm on face book... that doesnt mean i'm going to start growing pot! its a GAME!!!

      if you ban this app, you have to get into territory of WHOS moral judgement gets to decide what we can and cannot allow people to use on their phones or gaming systems... do you really want content to be regulated by the powers that be?

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • Persecuted
    • 0
      Persecuted  
    • EthicalVegan:

      i understand but we should not make laws and prohibit people from doing things that dont hurt people because somebody else feels sensitive about it... that is NOT freedom... maybe you think that this is morally wrong...maybe i think something else is morally wrong that you enjoy doing... would it be ok for me to ban something that isnt hurting anyone because i dont like it? absolutely not...

      again... i am not ok with dog fighting... i love dogs very much... i love animals in general... but this is a game... and your personal moral code does not and should not dictate what people can and cannot do.... this is a slippery slope... think about what the republicans are doing because of what their morals tells them is right and wrong...

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • Persecuted
  • EthicalVegan
    • -2
      EthicalVegan  
    • Persecuted:

      Because you like to pick fights, you also pretended not to see what I'd written two days ago about how I post articles that I may or may NOT be in agreement with. That, for you, is neither here nor there, apparently.

      I'll give you a good example, despite your not being worth the time... If I post an article that says undeniably that god exists, I may be posting that because, as an atheist, I want to share the article for WHAT it says. Got it?

      Enough said, I do believe.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • Persecuted
  • EthicalVegan
    • +3
      EthicalVegan  
    • EthicalVegan:

      If you right-click on the photo, then choose VIEW IMAGE INFO, you'll see the source. Hope that helps.

      That's the way to always see ANY photos I submit -- at least the ones that don't accompany the original news article (which then has the link usually at the very top of the submission's page).

      I tend to submit photos and NOT include the URL within the actual written submission (but use instead the "Add video/image/webcam" utility), so that I don't clutter the actual writing.

    • 2 years ago
  • Persecuted
  • littlwarrior
    • +3
      littlwarrior  
    • EthicalVegan:

      That right there is why you just have to love the Pitt Bull breed, put them through hell on earth and they can still be some of the most kind loving and loyal pets. I just wish we could completely eradicate this kind of disgusting behavior. To make an animal suffer like that for plain old entertainment well, there are just no words for how pissed I get, but pic's like these still leave me all warm and fuzzy inside.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +3
      EthicalVegan  
    • Persecuted:

      There's absolutely no pleasing you, is there? And I appreciate your heartfelt gratitude, as well.

      For someone who throws around words such as "every" so casually, I think you just needed to get the last word in, and it's another disappointment... especially since I was being nice and even COOPERATIVE, since you asked and I obliged.

    • 2 years ago
  • Persecuted
    • -2
      Persecuted  
    • EthicalVegan:

      yes... it is not an option on every browser, or i would have been able to do that on mine.. i didnt realize the source of this picture was such a big deal. you're trying to make me out to be some kind of dog fighting boogy man because i disagree with you about this app.... would i have this app? hell no.... should it be illegal because it makes you uncomfortable... hell no... the end... can it lady

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  
    • Persecuted:

      .

      "... i didn't realize the source of this picture was such a big deal."

      Oh, you're twisting things -- again. YOU'RE the one who asked for the source, not I. It was -- and still is, obviously -- YOUR "big deal."

      "... you're trying to make me out to be some kind of dog fighting boogy man..."

      No, I am not. That's all in your very own head. You just look for fights and, where there is none, you invent one. Please leave me out of your problem.

      " ... can it lady..."

      You sound like such a decent person.

    • 2 years ago
  • Persecuted
    • 0
      Persecuted  
    • EthicalVegan:

      you took my comment badly... the dog looks like a healthy puppy... i was CURIOUS where you got the pic from... it really WASNT that big of a deal... so i see you like to see yourself as some kind of fighter for the good... i respect that... but you treat humans badly over a phone app that no body or no animal is actually hurt over... so really... are you that great of a person? you sacrifice your manners to humans over something fictional that has to do with animals... doesnt sound like your priorities are straight.... you are so defensive about this imaginary issue that you are hyper sensitive... you need to calm down...
      again, i was just CURIOUS about where the pic came from... because not EVERYTHING you see on the internet is true... not that i was accusing YOU of posting an inacurate portrayal of abused dogs, but maybe the website was not legitimate, i just wanted to see for myself.
      now, as far as what kind of person i am... i am a meat eater, i am a liberal progressive, and i love animals. i stand up for what i believe, i hate cruelty or injustice to animal and human alike. i think everyone is too god damned sensitive too. i've had every kind of animal from a pig to a sheep to a horse to a hermit crab and everything in between. and i love being able to make choices... everyday so much is taken away from us. we should be able to CHOOSE what is right for us, whether that hurts your feelings or not... this app is not HURTING anyone... everything is so damned regulated and politically correct... for what? so we dont offend a handful of people. where is your rage about halo 3? do you know how many people are murdered in that video game... what about mortal combat... what about gears of war, what about grand theft auto... where is your outcry and your pictures of prostitutes and death and war and bloodshed when it comes to games involving the cruelty and murder of HUMANS? just get over it... thats what i'm saying... we dont have to customize this earth to fit your needs... if you dont like it, dont download it... its really that simple

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +4
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1380531/Animal-rights-activists-Google-b...

      Daily Mail Online...

      'Cruel and immoral': Animal rights activists call on Google to ban dogfighting phone app

      By Daily Mail Reporter
      Last updated at 11:35 PM on 25th April 2011

      Animal rights activists including NFL star Michael Vick have called on Google to ban an Android app which allows players to train virtual pit bulls for dog fights.

      Dog Wars, a free game for mobile phones, is marketed under the tag line 'raise your dog to beat the best', and lets players buy virtual shock collars and steroids.

      Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Vick, who spent 21 months in prison for his role in a dog fighting ring, joined a chorus of critics condemning the 'sickening' game.

      In a joint statement with Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society, said: 'I’ve come to learn the hard way that dogfighting is a dead-end street.

      'Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app.'

      Dog Wars is produced by Kage Games for devices which use Android, Google's mobile phone platform.

      The game is free to download from an online store, where so far 50,000 users have picked up the game since its launch on March 18.

      It touts itself as a game which will 'never be in the iPhone app store' and offers users the chance to 'feed, water, train and FIGHT your virtual dog against other player's (sic).'

      Its logo features 'Dog Wars' in a blood-red font, alongside a picture of a pit bull with blood dripping from its jaws.

      Users can earn 'street cred', which 'puts money in your pocket and lets you earn more in fights.' They can even buy a virtual gun to deter police 'heat'.

      Mr Pacelle said the app was anything but a game, because it copied methods used in organised dog fighting.

      He said: 'This game may be a training ground for young people to try the activity in the real world, encouraging cruelty to dogs and leading young people down a dead-end path.'.

      'The Humane Society of the United States urges Android to drop 'Dog Wars' from its applications and to join the national movement to save dogs from this violent pastime.

      'We want to inoculate kids against dog fighting. It’s horrible.'

      NFL star Vick is working with the Humane Society to educate the public about the dangers of dogfighting, after he was convicted in 2007 for the crime.

      Paul M Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police union, said he was concerned the game promoted 'cruel and immoral' behaviour and could be embraced by local gang members.

      He told the Los Angeles Times: 'It's sickening, absolutely sickening," Weber said. "They should take it down immediately.

      'These animals are defenseless. It's absolutely the wrong message to send to our children.'

      But Kage Games hit back against its critics in a statement on the Android website, saying it was just a video game.

      They wrote: 'Just because something is illegal in real life in certain countries, does not mean it is illegal to make a song, movie, or video game about it.

      'Perhaps one day we will make gerbil wars or beta fish wars for people who can’t understand fantasy role play games.'

      Photo: Training ground? Players can build up 'street cred' to earn more money for dogs, steroid injections and even guns to deter police raids

    • 2 years ago
  • ZiggyStrange
  • tverdell
  • EthicalVegan
    • +3
      EthicalVegan  
    • tverdell:

      .

      No different, wouldn't you say? Violence is violence... period.

      But I don't feel this is a "slippery slope," I really don't. Animal cruelty has been an issue for hundreds of years, and it's time people understood the implications behind such heinous actions.

    • 2 years ago
  • Persecuted
  • EthicalVegan
    • +4
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://www.opposingviews.com/i/michael-vick-ban-dogfighting-dog-wars-app-for-and...

      Opposing Views...

      Michael Vick: Ban Dogfighting 'Dog Wars' App for Smartphones
      Blog by The Humane Society

      Michael Vick was immersed in dogfighting for two decades, until his federal arrest and then conviction in 2007. Now, since his prison term ended, he’s volunteered with HSUS to speak to youth in urban communities throughout the country about the evils of dogfighting, in order to warn young men and kids away from the barbaric enterprise. Today, he’s joined our call to request that Android Market end its promotion of a new dogfighting application.

      “I’ve come to learn the hard way that dogfighting is a dead-end street,” Vick said in a statement released by The HSUS today. “Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app.”

      The Internet is rife with outrage over a mobile app called "Dog Wars," which simulates the experience of raising dogs to fight and setting them against one another. It’s a stupid concept, really, and it’s puzzling at some level that anyone smart enough to develop an app in the first place would imagine that he or she could promote this one without provoking widespread anger. Perhaps they want to provoke, as a means of cashing in.

      This game gives detailed instructions, including the selection of dogs, food, a feeding schedule, and items to properly condition dogs for fighting. These are virtually identical to the conditioning methods our anti-dogfighting team typically finds when working with law enforcement to raid these criminal operations.

      During the last several decades, The HSUS has spearheaded the national effort to criminalize animal fighting and to see that laws against this barbaric practice are enforced. We have upgraded nearly all of the laws against animal fighting at the state and federal levels, worked with law enforcement on hundreds of criminal cases, trained thousands of law enforcement officials on investigating such crimes, and developed tip lines and rewards programs to deter and to arrest people involved in dogfighting.

      Like a lot of cruelties, however, dogfighting seems at time ineradicable, with lawless people staging fights between dogs for money and the thrill of the bloodletting. That’s why, even with the general soundness of the laws, we must continue to press the battle and to work to root out animal fighting wherever we see it.

      We also must work to make dogfighting as unappealing as possible to the people at risk of getting involved in the activity, challenging those who celebrate it and making it socially radioactive, since at base it is a despicable and degrading spectacle.

      We must exhibit a zero-tolerance policy for this branding of dogfighting as a socially acceptable enterprise, a sort of cyber training ground for the activity. To that end, HSUS will raise these same concerns with Google, the owner of Android Market, and other stakeholders that may not have realized that some small person has developed and is distributing this Dog Wars app.

      The developer of Dog Wars is hyping the game as something you’ll never see in the iPhone app store. That’s probably true, and there’s a reason for it. Cruelty is never “just a game,” and there’s no case to be made for an app that promotes one of the most widely criminalized forms of mistreatment of animals.

    • 2 years ago
  • Persecuted
  • EthicalVegan
    • +4
      EthicalVegan  
    • Persecuted:

      Because dog fighting IS bad... and when you write "we" and "everyone," you surely cannot mean every single human being alive today.

      So, again... dog fighting is bad. It's wrong. It's immoral. It's ghastly. It's exploitation.

      And I'm not trying to "convince" anyone of anything. I posted an initial article, then went on to post additional related articles... as well as photos. I'm notorious, here within current, for submitting articles, some which I feel are so ludicrous that I want to share them, even if I'm totally opposed to the issue being reported.

      Your posts to me are rather unnecessary because of their tone. I have never written to you with anger or confrontation. If you don't like or appreciate my submissions, it's best that you not even read them, to begin with. Fair enough?

    • 2 years ago
  • Persecuted
  • Persecuted
    • -3
      Persecuted  
    • EthicalVegan:

      why dont you launch a full campaign against crack... most of us know its wrong... but some people in the world do it... so post endless paragraphs about how bad crack is... because one person who uses crack might accidentally stumble upon your post one day and your preaching is gonna change their life

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +3
      EthicalVegan  
    • Persecuted:

      Wow, you sure are one very angry human being.

      And, ONCE AGAIN, I submitted the articles -- I didn't WRITE the articles. I SUBMITTED them. I'm sharing the news, because I think it's of interest to many individuals.

      Please try to calm yourself down, and not be so bitter. It's most unattractive, and disappointing, especially when I've continued to show you respect and even tolerance. Don't go off on tangents, don't waste everyone's time with what I'm beginning to think is nothing more than a huge chip on the shoulder -- and for WHAT?

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +5
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/04/25/6525818-even-michael-vick-wants-go...

      Digital Life on Today...

      Even Michael Vick wants Google to dump dog-fighting app

      Dog Wars/Kage Games
      By Helen A.S. Popkin

      "Raise your Dog to Beat the Best!" reads the Android App Market description for "Dog Wars," by Kage Games. "A GAME THAT WILL NEVER BE IN THE iPHONE APP STORE!!!"

      If animal welfare advocates have their say, "Dog Wars" won't stay in the Android Market, either. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick — who served 21 months in jail for operating a dog fighting ring in which dogs fought to the death, were hung and killed by repeated slamming into the ground — released a public statement against the free app, currently in beta testing.

      The game, in which a player "feeds, waters, trains and fights the virtual dog for virtual money," is too close to the inhumane blood sport, protesters contend, and encourage animal lovers to sign a petition to have the game removed and complain directly to Google, which owns the Android Market.

      "It is clear to me that the people at Google/Android /Kage Games think dog fighting is a joke and that perpetuating the myth that pit bulls are inherently aggressive has no repercussions," writes Sloane Quealy-Miner in a call to arms on Breed Specific Legislation News, a pit bull advocacy blog.

      Call to Action: Contact the Android market team here and email press@google.com to demand this disgusting application be banned from the Android Market.

      REPEATEDLY EMAIL until they take this application off the market.

      A petition inspired by the BSL News post was launched at Change.org, the same open petition website on which in March more than 150,000 people signed a successful petition demanding Apple dump a so-called "gay cure" app from its App Store.

      Kage Games seems ready for the complaints and it seems the developer is already deluged. This defense/justification is offered on its Android Market page:

      Remember this is a Beta release...

      If you get a bug, please send us the report or email us.

      If you have a bug up your b*tt about the game concept, remember:

      1. It is just A VIDEO GAME
      2. Perhaps one day we will make gerbil wars or beta fish wars for people who can't understand fantasy role play games
      3. Just because something is illegal in real life in certain countries, does not mean it is illegal to make a song, movie, or video game about it (looking at you XDA Developer Forums... deleting our beta testing thread and banning our account?!)
      4. Just go slingshot some virtual birds to kill some virtual pigs.
      5. Go complain to someone who cares about Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Weed Farmer, Smoke a Bowl (these two are listed in the top 15 of casual games on Android Market) and maybe even Sierra's Leisure Suit Larry from 1987.
      6. This is listed as a HIGH MATURITY app, and does NOT violate the Terms of Use with the Google market in any way!!!

      Let's Get it On!

      .

      .

      One could make the argument that "Dog Wars" violates the Google market term for, "Violence and Bullying: Depictions of gratuitous violence are not allowed. Applications should not contain materials that threaten, harass or bully other users." Though given the open discription, it could be argued either way. (Google has not yet answered our request for comment.)

      Regarding Kage Game's all-capped boast, "A GAME THAT WILL NEVER BE IN THE iPHONE APP STORE!!!" Apple's App Store restrictions are notoriously more strict and arbitrary. Notably, "Baby Shaker," an app in which an image of a crying baby is shaken until it dies, was removed after complaints in 2009.

      Google, meanwhile, has an opposite reputation when it comes to content, permitting "adult" applications even when anti-porn groups protest.

      A sex-positive permissiveness may seem to some more reasonable than allowing the virtual abuse of dogs who, unlike consenting adults, have no agency in the real world. "For people to see a game like this — where you actually get to choose your player and your dog and train them and fight them — it's atrocious," Nancy Haynes, Animal Welfare Manager at the Mohawk and Hudson Humane Society in Menands, New York told Fox News.

      Michael Vick and the Humane Society of the United States released a joint statement asking Google to remove "Dog Wars" from the Android Market:

      The following is a statement from Michael Vick regarding the Android-compatible application "Dog Wars":

      "I’ve come to learn the hard way that dogfighting is a dead-end street. Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app."

      Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS, writes extensively on dogfighting in his new book, "The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them," and discusses his work now with Michael Vick to reach kids in at-risk communities and to steer them away from dogfighting.

      Pacelle added the following:

      "Android should drop ‘Dog Wars’ from its online market and join the national movement to save dogs from this violent practice. Because “Dog Wars” actually instructs players on how to condition a dog using methods that are standard in organized dogfighting, this game may be a virtual training ground for would-be dogfighters. Its timing and message are all wrong."

      Further, facts animal protection groups such as the Humane Society and the ASPCA make a good case against the gamification of cruelty:

      As with any other illegal underground activity, it is impossible to determine how many people may be involved in dog fighting. Estimates based on fight reports in underground dog fighting publications, and on animals entering shelters bearing evidence of fighting, suggest that the number of people involved in dog fighting in the U.S. is in the tens of thousands.

      While organized dog fighting activity seemed to decline in the 1990s, many law enforcement and animal control officials feel that it has rebounded in recent years. Street fighting has reportedly continued to grow as a significant component of urban crime. The Internet has also made it easier for dogfighters to rapidly exchange information about animals and fights.

      Whether Google relents and drops "Dog Wars" from the Android Market is not a matter of free speech, a term bound to be thrown about erroneously in this debate. Google is a business, not the government, and the 1st Ammendment doesn't apply. Businesses tend to bend to the will of the customer majority — that's just smart capitalism. Whether Google adopts a "no censorship" stance, goes with the majority customer morality, or some other stand we're not privy too, we'll just have to wait and see.

      http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/04/25/article-1380531-0BC5922600000578-767_4...

      AP Photo: Outcry: Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society, left, issued a joint statement with NFL star Michael Vick, right, calling on Google to ban Dog Wars

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • August_K
12
101 - 147 of 147
more from Upstream:
from the community

top videos