As you may have heard by now, Michael Vick and his three co-defendants were indicted today by a grand jury, and charged with one count of beating or killing a dog in addition to one count of engaging in and promoting dogfighting. The next step is for the prosecuting attorney, Gerald Poindexter, to actually charge these guys. This is PETA’s official statement on the new indictment:

"PETA believes, as most Americans do, that the best way to safeguard animals is for anyone who participates in dogfighting to spend time behind bars and be banned from owning animals for life. Given that dogs who did not perform to the defendants' satisfaction were intentionally killed by electrocution, drowning, hanging, shooting, and being repeatedly slammed to the ground, state felony cruelty-to-animals charges and state felony dogfighting charges are clearly warranted in this case. The federal authorities prosecuted the crimes under their jurisdiction with due diligence, and we look forward to seeing Commonwealth Attorney Gerald Poindexter do the same.”

Please click here to take action on this issue by urging the NFL to add cruelty to animals to its conduct policy.

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Since taking over the job, Commissioner Roger Goodell has talked a big game about cracking down on character issues in the NFL—and until now, he's backed up his commitment, doling out tough penalties to Bengals receiver Chris Henry for DUIs and Bears tackle Tank Johnson for charges related to illegal firearms possession, and suspending Titans cornerback Pacman Jones for a full year following his troubles with the police. But now, in the face of national outrage over Vick’s indictment on dogfighting charges, Goodell has announced that Vick will be allowed to play when the season starts in September. Why, Roger, are you folding now when one of the NFL's biggest stars (who's certainly been no stranger to the courtroom since he was drafted by the Falcons) has been indicted for a crime that is nothing short of torture? What kind of a message does this send to the communities that are working so hard to stamp out this crime, or to the young fans of Michael Vick who are waiting to find out whether dogfighting is something that will get you into trouble? Goodell's weak response to these deadly serious allegations is tantamount to admitting that the National Football League doesn't consider ties to dogfighting rings a character issue at all.

Starting tomorrow, we will be holding demonstrations calling for Vick's suspension from the league, so I'll keep you posted with details, and if you want to let Goodell know that he's made the wrong decision, you can contact him about the issue here.

There is some good news, though. I know a lot of people have been contacting Vick's sponsors asking that they sever their ties with him, and it looks like some companies have been listening: Nike just announced that they will be suspending the release of the Air Zoom Vick V this summer. You can read about that here. You can be certain that we'll keep the pressure on Vick's other sponsors and the NFL to do the right thing here, and I'll let you know as soon as there are more developments in the story.

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The PETA offices have been in overdrive since last night responding to Michael Vick's recent indictment for dogfighting. The vague statement released by the Atlanta Falcons about this disturbing news is simply not sufficient. This morning, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, civil rights leader The Rev. Al Sharpton, and PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk sent a letter to all of Vick's corporate sponsors, Falcons CEO Arthur Blank, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell roundly condemning dogfighting and other forms of violence. You can read that letter here. We are also calling on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to immediately suspend Michael Vick in light of this indictment. According to Deadspin the indictment includes the following allegations, which highlight exactly how reprehensible this vicious blood sport is:

• "In March 2003, PEACE, after consulting with Vick about the female pit bull's condition, executed the losing dog by wetting the dog down with water and electrocuting the animal."
• "In April 2007, PEACE, PHILLIPS and VICK executed approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in 'testing' sessions by various methods, including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."

Please click here to contact Roger Goodell about this news and ask him to immediately take action. We're doing everything we can to ensure that the news of Vick's alleged involvement in this horrific cruelty is not swept under the rug. I can only hope that the high profile nature of Michael Vick's case helps to shed light on an epidemic that, too often, is not treated with enough gravity by law-enforcement officials, and that needs to be stamped out immediately.

Please click here for an update.

Michael Vick has just been indicted in the investigation of dog-fighting on his Virginia property. I’ll give you more information tomorrow, but in the meantime, this is PETA’s official statement on the topic:

PETA’s offices, located just over an hour away from Michael Vick’s rural mansion—where we now know dozens if not hundreds of dogs were forced to fight to the death in the pit—has been receiving vague allegations of Vick’s involvement in illegal animal fighting activity for years, sadly without much concrete evidence to back it up. While local authorities—who have historically mishandled dogfighting cases—sat on evidence in this case, the U.S. Attorney’s office was obviously determined to get the job done. The professional sports world is plagued with players who have been accused, charged, or convicted of cruelty to animals, abusing pit bulls, and dog fighting, and we hope that this indictment sends a loud and clear message to players and the NFL that celebrity is not a sufficient excuse for breaking the law, and that animal abuse should never be tolerated under any circumstances.
-PETA Director Daphna Nachminovitch