The Wildlife Penning Prohibition Act of 2008 in the US

Although nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to what humans will do to non-human animals to amuse themselves (e.g. bull-fighting, canned hunting, trophy hunting, et al.), the practice of wildlife penning is something with which I was unfamiliar up until this morning. I read about how Congress in the US is presently considering amending the Lacey Act to prohibit the interstate travel of wild animals used in penning.

So what's involved in wildlife penning? Basically, animals (generally foxes or coyotes) are caught -- usually in steel leg traps where they're seriously injured -- and then thrown into cages together and transported to these events where they're penned and packs of dogs are set loose on them to rip them apart. The dogs are numbered and judged on how quickly they attack and eviscerate the trapped animals. HSUS is encouraging people to contact their representatives to urge them to pass this legislation.