A dog owner has been handed a 475-year prison sentence after more than 100 malnourished pit bulls were found tied to trees in his backyard as part of a dogfighting ring.
Vincent Lemark Burrell was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of animal cruelty charges more than two years on from a raid at his home in Dallas, Georgia, unearthed the horrid conditions the canines were in at the 57-year-old’s home.
Paulding County Assistant District Attorney K.C. Pagnotta explained: “Everywhere you looked, you couldn’t take a step in any one direction without there being another pit bull staked out on a chain.” Pagnotta added that it is believed to be the longest such sentence in the nation’s history for dogfighting and animal cruelty.
He continued: “And the purpose of doing that is dog fighting. They will put the pit bull out on a chain, and they space each dog out enough that they can see each other. They can agitate each other, but they can actually get to one another. And it’s part of the building of aggression that they used to train fighting dogs.”
It was revealed that Burrell had been breeding pit bulls and then training them to fight, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office revealed. In total, 106 dogs, mostly pit bulls and some emaciated, were found and placed into rescue facilities. The majority, however, were “strong and extremely aggressive” towards other dogs.
A press release from the sheriff’s office said: ““The sad part is that the vast majority of these animals just craved the love and attention of the Deputies and Detectives that were on the scene.”
They continued: “These animals were tied to various things using large and extremely heavy logging chains and thick collars. Many of these dogs were basically left in the elements with little to no shelter for days on end.”
Cops said several of the dogs were found in the basement smelling of urine and faeces and the officers entering the property needed to wear protective equipment.
Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge added: “Conditions where dogs were being housed, both inside and on the exterior of this property, were not fit for humans, much less dogs. The dark and sinister world of dog fighting is a despicable culture that has no place in our world.”
