CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — South Carolina is uncovering more dogfighting operations than ever as investigators confront the violence, trauma and unspoken evidence left behind in each case.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division rescued more than 200 dogs from illegal dogfighting rings in 2024, reflecting a growing focus on identifying networks tied to cruelty and organized crime. What the animals cannot say, their scars often reveal, as teams work through examinations, documentation and chain-of-custody steps that start the moment they leave a fighting pit.
“Dog fighting has been around forever and trying to prosecute them has been forever. It’s really hard to prosecute animal cases because your victims can’t speak. And that’s where that veterinary forensic plays into it. It gives that animal a voice through using their body as the evidence,” Aldwin Roman, the vice president and chief operating officer of the Charleston Animal Society, said…