Cruelty to animals is a psychotic behavior. It shows a sociopathic tendency that often carries over to how one deals with humans. Michael Vick is yet another example of how kids with an ability to throw, bounce, toss, or kick a ball are placed on too high a ground from the time they are very young.
We have a senior in High School here in my home town who is already being watched by the pros. He has been lauded as an up and coming hero since he was 12 years old. He has been trained to believe that being rich and famous takes precedence over any empathy towards others. The kid is a complete and total jerk. I have no doubt that we will one day soon see his face on the news; face stuffed with cocaine or raping unsuspecting female fans, or yes, even engaging in cruelty to animals. This is why the NCAA needs to go away. The absolute stupidity over the importance of college sports has become obscene in itself. As long as we place these hoodlums on a pedestal we will continue to see horrific behavior not only in the pro sports, but in the children who look up to them.
But back to the subject at hand.

 Laws protecting cruelty to animals are justified in that animals have no say about their futures. At the same time, mankind has dominion over the animals according to the Good Book and if they are killed humanely there is no reason not to eat them. (As the old joke goes; I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to eat lettuce.)
I recently interpreted a public meeting about dog fighting. The dogs, yes they are almost exclusively pit-bulls, are thought of as having the same qualities as inanimate objects. To the dog fighter, the pit bull is no more or less than his vehicle or the coffee table in the living room. These despicable people not only force the dogs to fight to the death, these people will buy or kidnap smaller animals, usually kittens or puppies, with which to train their dogs. I won't go into the gory details. Suffice it to say that only a sub-human could do such a thing. And the saddest part of all is that this is happening not only in the urban areas, but in the lovely farmland of the rural counties of America. That beautiful old barn you passed on your way to the last antique market could very possibly have had a dog fight going on inside at that moment.
People who fight dogs are teaching their children to adopt the same attitude toward not only dogs, but their fellow humans. These children are becoming tomorrow's socio-paths.The de-sensitization of these children is one of the worst by-products of the dog fighting scene and I have no doubt that as these children grow, so will the number of rapes, armed robberies, and murders. After all, "It's all about me."  Isn't it?