Secret Dog Fighting Trend: Trunking

Now here’s something I hadn’t heard before, and quite frankly, I wish I still didn’t know about it. Talk about disturbing! A friend posted a link on Facebook the other day, her comment accompanying it a simple, “OMG”. That, if anything, is an understatement.

MyFoxNews: Video

It seems dog fighting has been going on in more places than the usual street corners and alleys, basements and abandoned buildings – and Michael Vick’s property not long ago. There is a practice that is referred to as “trunking”. It is inarguably an ethically void, barbaric activity. Yet it is one that has been on the rise, particularly with younger people; teens wanting to “get into” the fighting – either for money, “tough” status on the street, even merely for sheer bragging rights – are more likely to be the perpetrators.

What is trunking? Two dogs are placed into the trunk of a car. Then the people involved drive the car around. Or they just leave the car parked somewhere. There are different “games” they play, but in essence – once they’re done driving, after 15 to 30 minutes, only one dog is left alive in the trunk. The dog left breathing is the winner. The fewer the scars, injuries, etc on the dog, the greater the status of the dog as a “fighter”.

What has had police particularly frustrated, has been the inability to discover this while it is happening. For the general public, the only clue is a car driving along blasting music. Yes, they usually play music loudly, ramping up the bass – it obviously covers up any incriminating sounds. The most common type of car used happens to also be the type found quite frequently in inner-city neighborhoods, where a large percentage of trunking occurs – a full-size sedan, with a roomy trunk. However, they can and do use any type of car, any size trunk.

As popularity and frequency of this crime spreads, police departments are ramping up their efforts to stop it. In some cities, officers are being trained on how to detect the possibility of trunking as it is happening. And yes, it is a crime; it is considered dog fighting, whether it is in an abandoned building, on the street – or in a car. Penalties are the same.

So if you hear loud music coming from a car, it might just be rambunctious teenagers out for a drive; or it might be some young people driving a death machine for the sake of money or power. Remind me again…  why KG insists their “Dog Wars” game is harmless?

Sources:
WMCTV/Memphis, TN
MyFoxNews9
ZooToo/PetPulse