Federal Agents Seize 63 Dogs From Fighting Ring

After discovering blood stains on the carpet at a suspected dogfighting operation in Georgia, federal agents seized 63 dogs from the premises.

On March 17, state troopers pulled over four vehicles and found a pit bull covered in blood, federal prosecutors said in court papers. The driver admitted to having just attended a dog fight in a remote part of Dodge County, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, authorities said.

Agents then searched the location and found 55 pit bull dogs staked to the ground with chains without access to any food. They also found four "grave areas" and the buried bodies of five dogs.

Prosecutors said approximately 40 percent of the dogs had scars on their faces and legs. They also said that some of the dogs were pregnant.

Agents with the Oconee County Regional Drug Task Force received a tip that a dog fight was planned somewhere in Dodge County around 9 p.m. on March 17. Law enforcement officers had been patrolling country roads in the area when they pulled the vehicles over, authorities said.

Six Georgia men and one South Carolina man face dog fighting-related charges, Dodge County jail records show.

Dog fights are typically staged for entertainment or gambling, prosecutors said.

"Fights usually end when one dog withdraws, when a handler 'picks up' his dog and forfeits the match, or when one or both dogs die," prosecutors wrote in their complaint seeking a warrant to seize the dogs.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine called the activity "a barbaric spectacle that has no place in any civilized society."