COLUMBIA — Eleven people were arrested and more than 160 dogs were rescued in South Carolina’s second-largest bust ever of a dogfighting ring in the Palmetto State, authorities announced Monday.
Beyond finding bloodied dogs, the officers who went to 10 homes in Dillon and Marion counties with arrest warrants last Wednesday and Thursday seized lots of drugs, cash and guns, according to a news release from the State Law Enforcement Division, which coordinated the bust. One of the 11 people arrested turned himself in Friday.
“If you are involved in dogfighting in South Carolina, we will find you, we will arrest you and we will hold you accountable,” SLED Chief Mark Keel said at a news conference Monday with Gov. Henry McMaster at the agency’s forensic lab.
In all, officers took $69,700 in cash, 55 guns and an assortment of drugs that included 17 pounds of marijuana, 11 grams of crack cocaine, one gram of cocaine, two grams of ketamine, 990 fentanyl pills and 2,266 ecstasy pills, according to the release.
Most of the 11 face charges of animal fighting, a felony that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and ill treatment of animals. On first offense, that charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Additional convictions are punishable by up to two years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
In one home, the drugs and guns were not secured away from children, leading to an additional charge of unlawfully placing a child at risk, Keel said.
Organizations involved in the takedown and rescue of the animals include drug task forces from both North and South Carolina and the sheriffs for Dillon and Marion counties.
“SLED is fortunate to partner with local law enforcement departments, sheriff’s offices, and our federal agencies and task forces,” Keel said.
Jennifer Bonovich, a forensic veterinarian at the announcement, described the trauma endured by the dogs as a “fate worse than death.”
The dogs made to fight are chained, battered, bruised and often malnourished as people sit to the side attempting to profit off that pain.
“Bones are crushed and fractured, all of this while members of your community are watching and cheering,” said Bonovich, who said she works with SLED and goes to the crime scenes to evaluate the animals.
SLED started a four-person dogfighting unit in 2023 and has rescued 492 dogs, leading to the arrest of 116 people, according to statistics from the agency.
That tally includes last week’s bust.
Marion and Dillon counties lead the state with the most dogs seized since Jan. 1, 2024, with 82 and 72 respectively, followed by Richland (45), Darlington (43) and Georgetown (40), according to a map of counties SLED provided Monday.
“This is an unspeakable thing that’s happening,” said McMaster, who began leading the fight against dogfighting in South Carolina long before his time in the Governor’s Mansion.
It was McMaster who started South Carolina’s anti-dogfighting task force with then-SLED Chief Robert Stewart in 2004.
In his January State of the State address, he again asked the Legislature to provide SLED more money to “end this unforgivable savagery.” He added that “most of the people participating in this barbaric activity have long criminal records.”
SLED asked legislators for $500,000 in the coming fiscal year to cover the veterinary bills and care of dogs it rescues from dogfighting ring. But the House didn’t include any additional money for the unit in the plan it passed last month. The Senate’s budget-writing committee is crafting its spending plan this week.
Last year, McMaster asked legislators to provide $566,286, which they did. In 2022, the Legislature sent SLED $181,148 for the salary and equipment of an agent dedicated to animal-fighting enforcement — again, matching McMaster’s request.
“We have to put a stop to it,” McMaster said Monday.
When SLED rescues the dogs, it partners with organizations like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to find facilities where they can be nurtured and hopefully one day adopted, said Matthew Bershadker, president of the ASPCA, who was at the announcement.
SLED rescued more than 200 dogs last year. A new law allowed for their quicker adoption.
Once they are cared for, they often find homes and live out a normal life, McMaster said.
Until last year, the cost of prosecuting animal fighting rings and the long-term care of their victims allowed abusers to escape paying for their crimes. As these cases dragged on, potentially for years, the costs fell on taxpayers. The dogs couldn’t be adopted until the criminal charges were resolved.
That changed with a law dubbed the “cost of care” act, which McMaster signed last May after both chambers passed it unanimously.
It flipped the financial burden of care from the government to the accused — and allowed for the dog’s placement with new, loving owners much faster.
As long as a judge determines the seizure was justified, an accused owner must either pay for the dog’s care for the duration of the case or immediately forfeit ownership, allowing the dog to be adopted.
“This law is critically important for law enforcement to pursue animal cruelty investigations,” Bershadker said, “and it helps ensure that the animals get the treatment that they need and deserve.”
SLED encourages anyone with information regarding dogfighting to contact its tipline at 866-472-8477 or email tips.sled.sc.gov.
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