Michael Vick backs dogfighting crackdown

WASHINGTON, July 19 (UPI) -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who was jailed for his role in dogfighting, went to Congress Tuesday to endorse a ban on the practice.

Vick spoke at a Capitol Hill news conference with Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle, Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, sponsor of a bill to outlaw attendance at animal fights, and Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., co-chairman of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, Politico reported.

"If you take away the profits, you can eliminate dogfighting. During my time in prison I told myself that I wanted to be part of the solution, not the problem," said Vick, who again apologized for his own involvement in a Virginia dogfighting ring that earned him a 20-month term.

Sutton's bill, H.R. 2492, seeks to penalize people who finance and bring children to dog fights and cock fights.