now dogfighting is illegal in the US .. it is a federal offense and for good reason .. and vick and his co-defendants pleaded guilty to the charges ..
some pro athletes have been coming to vick's defense .. clinton portis, deion sanders, and roy jones jr. have all gone on record saying that vick didn't really do anything wrong and that this whole thing is being blown out of proportion .. the latest being none other than new york knicks point guard stephon marbury ..
"I think it's tough," Marbury said, according to Albany TV station Capital News 9. "I think, you know, we don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors."
marbury's comments are the latest but certainly not the last chapter in the vick controversy .. and they are receiving a lot of attention in the media .. with some people saying he has a point .. while others are calling him an idiot .. from what i have read it seems that the majority belong to the latter group .. what do you think?
personally .. i'm kind of torn .. i mean he does have a point .. well kind of .. i do see some validity in what he said .. i think he is correct in saying that there are some activities where animals are harmed or killed that society doesn't frown upon .. so on what grounds are these considered legal sport activities .. how do we determine which activities should be classified as sports and which should be classified as crimes .. but at the same time .. i don't agree with marbury calling dogfighting a sport .. because it's not .. it's cruelty and it deserves to be a crime.
in islam cruelty to animals is a sin .. islam encourages kindness to animals .. there are numerous verses from the Quran and stories from the Prophet (PBUH) regarding this issue .. i will share some with you ..
The Prophet said, "While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well, and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, 'This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine.' So, he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him.'' The people asked ``O Allah's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?'' He replied: ``Yes, there is a reward for serving any living creature.''
The Prophet said, “A woman entered the Hellfire because of a cat which she had tied, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth.”
Ibn Mas`ud said: “Once we were traveling with the Prophet and he went to do something, meanwhile (we found a bird with its young ones) so we took them. The bird came and started flapping its wings continuously. Then the Prophet asked: ‘Who has distressed this bird by taking its young? Return them to it at once.’"
The Prophet saw a camel which was carrying a huge load to the extent that one could neither see its back nor its belly, so he said: "Fear Allah when you deal with these beasts of burden. They must be healthy for riding and eating."
Ibn `Abbas said: “The Prophet forbade that animals be made to fight each other, thus denouncing people’s habit of goading animals into fighting each other until one of them was pecked or gored to death, or close to it.”
Ibn `Abbas reported that the Prophet strongly condemned the castration of animals.
Ibn `Umar saw some people practicing archery using a hen as a target, he said, "The Prophet cursed anyone who took a living thing as a target."
The Prophet saw a donkey with a branded face, he denounced such a practice saying: "I would not brand an animal except on the part of its body farthest from the face." In another incident, he passed by a donkey with a branded face and said: "Have you not heard that I have cursed anyone who brands an animal on its face or who hits it on its face?"
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