Rocky Mount police arrested a convicted felon this week after reportedly uncovering a dog fighting ring he was running at a house on the 900 block of Raleigh Street.

Officers responded to the house Tuesday night after receiving reports of animal cruelty. What they found was 13 dogs sheltered in inhumane and unsanitary conditions and the carcasses of at least one dog in the wooded area behind the home.

The dogs were seized and are listed in fair condition at the animal shelter. The suspect, Kelly Brian Stancil, was charged with felony dog fighting and nine misdemeanor charges related to the incident.

Sadly, I'm sure this is not the only dog fighting operation in the Twin Counties, but it is the first bust of one I've heard of in a while. What gets me is that these operations would not exist if people did not support them, so obviously there is a subsect of residents who raise and fight dogs to the death.

They call it a sport, but it couldn't be the furthest thing from a sport. Any Google search about dog fighting reveals a haunting array of pictures of dogs with gruesome injuries and stories about football player Michael Vick who was arrested for his involvement in the black market fights.

How can anyone support these operations, especially someone who accepted the position of role models to thousands across the country? How can these operations go largely undetected because, in my experience, they are usually anything but subtle?

Would you come forward if you knew such an operation was going on in the community? What do you think the punishment should be for people who operate these cruel rings?