Dogfighting Laws in Michigan: What Counts as a Felony and What Happens to Seized Dogs

If you simply watch a dogfight in Michigan from the sidelines, you can face the same felony-level charge as the person who bred the dogs and organized the match. That single fact surprises most people researching dogfighting laws in Michigan, because many assume spectators get off with a slap on the wrist. They don’t.

Michigan Compiled Laws Section 750.49 treats almost every link in the dogfighting chain, from breeding and training to attending and profiting, as a criminal offense, and most of those offenses carry felony consequences. Below, you will find a section-by-section breakdown of who can be charged, what penalties apply, what happens to the dogs themselves, and how Michigan’s law interacts with federal statutes.

Important Note: This article explains Michigan’s dogfighting statutes for informational purposes. It is not legal advice. If you are facing charges or need guidance on a specific situation, consult a licensed Michigan criminal defense attorney.

Is Dogfighting a Felony in Michigan?

Yes. Under Michigan law, MCL 750.49, a person who violates subsection (2)(a) to (e) is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 4 years. That range of conduct covers owning, breeding, organizing, hosting, and profiting from a dogfight, not just the act of fighting the dogs itself.

Michigan is not unusual in this respect, but it is stricter than many states in how broadly it applies felony liability. The Animal Legal Defense Fund notes that dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Michigan goes a step further: Michigan is one of only six states, along with Delaware, Florida, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia, that have made all forms of animal fighting predicate offenses under their state racketeering statutes.

That racketeering connection matters because it gives Michigan prosecutors an additional tool for dismantling organized fighting rings, not just punishing individual participants. For a broader look at how Michigan’s cruelty statutes overlap with the fighting-specific provisions, see this guide to animal cruelty laws in Michigan.

What Counts as Dogfighting Under Michigan Law

Michigan’s statute does not use a single, narrow definition of “dogfighting.” Instead, it lists a series of specific prohibited acts under MCL 750.49(2), and committing any one of them can trigger criminal liability. According to a breakdown of the statute, a person shall not own, possess, use, buy, sell, offer to buy or sell, import, or export an animal for fighting or baiting, or as a target to be shot at as a test of skill in marksmanship.

The law also separately prohibits several related behaviors. You might wonder how broadly this reaches beyond the dogs themselves. Consider this breakdown of the core prohibitions:

• Owning, possessing, buying, selling, importing, or exporting an animal intended for fighting or baiting
• Being a party to or causing the fighting, baiting, or shooting of an animal
• Renting or obtaining the use of a building, yard, vehicle, or other venue for an animal fight
• Permitting property you own or control to be used for animal fighting, baiting, or shooting
• Organizing, promoting, or collecting money connected to an animal fight

Because the statute covers “fighting, baiting, or shooting” as a package, it technically extends beyond dogs to other animals used in staged fights or baiting scenarios. For a general overview of what Michigan law expects from pet owners day to day, see this resource on pet laws in Michigan.

Is It a Crime to Attend a Dogfight or Bring a Child to One in Michigan?

Yes, merely attending is enough to trigger felony liability in Michigan. The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s compendium of state animal protection laws lists attending an animal fight as a felony under MCL 750.49(2)(f) to (h), punishable by 4 years imprisonment, a $1,000 to $5,000 fine, and/or 250 to 500 hours of community service, a lower fine range than organizers face but still a felony-level consequence.

This matters because many people assume that only the people who actually profit from or organize a fight face serious charges. In Michigan, being present in the room is legally treated as participation, not passive observation.

Important Note: Michigan’s dogfighting statute does not include a separate, fighting-specific penalty enhancement for bringing a minor to a dogfight. However, exposing a child to this kind of event could still trigger separate child welfare or endangerment statutes outside MCL 750.49, depending on the circumstances. A Michigan attorney can speak to how those laws might apply in a specific case.

Owning, Breeding, Training, or Selling Dogs for Fighting in Michigan

Breeding or training a dog specifically for fighting purposes falls squarely within the organizing-tier offenses under MCL 750.49(2)(a) through (e). The statute’s language is broad enough to cover the full supply chain: owning, possessing, using, buying, selling, or even offering to buy or sell an animal for fighting purposes is prohibited, regardless of whether a fight has actually taken place yet.

The penalty for this tier is the most severe under the statute. Per the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s compendium, a violation of MCL 750.49(2)(a)-(e) carries 4 years imprisonment, a $5,000 to $50,000 fine, and/or 500 to 1,000 hours of community service. That fine range is ten times higher than the attending-only tier, reflecting how Michigan prioritizes punishing the people who create and profit from fighting operations.

If you are trying to understand where legitimate breeding practices end and criminal liability begins, Michigan’s general breeding regulations are a useful comparison point. See this guide to dog breeding laws in Michigan for the rules that apply to lawful breeders. The statute’s reference to importing and exporting animals for fighting also intersects with broader state rules; for context on moving animals across state lines generally, see pet import laws in Michigan.

Dogfighting Paraphernalia, Bait Animals, and Evidence of Intent in Michigan

Michigan law does not require prosecutors to catch a fight in progress to bring charges. Possessing fighting equipment, training devices, or other paraphernalia tied to animal fighting is itself a separate basis for prosecution, and it falls under the same statutory framework that governs the broader fighting offense.

Beyond equipment, investigators often look at circumstantial evidence, scarring patterns consistent with fighting, treadmills or spring poles used for conditioning, veterinary supplies kept outside normal pet-care needs, and training logs. Michigan’s statute also ties directly into forfeiture: devices and equipment connected to fighting operations are subject to seizure alongside the animals themselves, since the law’s scope explicitly covers the forfeiture of animals, equipment, devices, and money tied to a fighting violation.

Evidence related to how a dog has been kept, including chaining or tethering practices, can also factor into a broader cruelty or fighting investigation. For more on what’s legally permitted when it comes to restraining a dog outdoors, see this overview of dog chaining laws in Michigan.

Hosting a Dogfight, Allowing One on Your Property, or Profiting From One in Michigan

Property owners face direct liability under Michigan’s statute, even if they never personally handle a fighting dog. The law prohibits renting or otherwise obtaining the use of a building, shed, room, yard, ground, premises, vehicle, or any other venue for fighting, baiting, or shooting an animal, and separately prohibits permitting the use of property belonging to you or under your control for those same purposes.

Organizing or financially benefiting from a fight is treated just as seriously. The statute makes it illegal to organize, promote, or collect money for the fighting, baiting, or shooting of an animal. These provisions fall under the same felony tier as ownership and breeding, carrying up to four years in prison and a fine as high as $50,000.

A conviction under this tier also triggers mandatory forfeiture. As the statute’s penalty structure makes clear, all animals being used or to be used in fighting, along with the equipment, devices, and money involved, must be forfeited to the state, and the animals cannot be returned to the owner, trainer, or possessor.

Penalties for Dogfighting Offenses in Michigan: Prison, Fines, and Repeat Convictions

Michigan’s penalty structure is tiered by the severity of conduct rather than applying one flat punishment to every violation. The table below summarizes the main penalty categories under MCL 750.49.

Offense	Statute	Classification	Maximum Penalty
Organizing, breeding, hosting, or profiting from fights	MCL 750.49(2)(a)-(e)	Felony	4 years prison, $5,000-$50,000 fine, 500-1,000 hours community service
Attending or possessing fighting equipment	MCL 750.49(2)(f)-(h)	Felony	4 years prison, $1,000-$5,000 fine, 250-500 hours community service
Inciting a fighting animal to attack, resulting in death	MCL 750.49(8)	Felony	Life or a term of years greater than 15
Inciting a fighting animal to attack, no death	MCL 750.49(9)	Felony	Up to 4 years and/or fine
Fighting animal attacks without provocation, causing death	MCL 750.49(10)	Felony	Up to 15 years
Fighting animal attacks without provocation, no death	MCL 750.49(11)	Misdemeanor	Up to 1 year, fine up to $1,000

The attack-related tiers address a scenario distinct from organizing or attending a fight: what happens when a dog previously used for fighting later injures or kills someone. According to a Michigan legal commentary on these provisions, if a person incites an animal trained or used for fighting to attack a person and the attack does not result in death, the owner can be charged with a 4-year maximum felony or a fine of not more than $2,000. If that same attack is unprovoked and causes death, the owner can be charged with a 15-year maximum felony, and if it is unprovoked but does not cause death, the owner faces a 1-year maximum misdemeanor and a fine of up to $1,000.

Key Insight: Michigan’s RICO statute reinforces these penalties for organized operations. Because Michigan has designated all forms of animal fighting as a predicate racketeering offense, prosecutors can pursue repeat or networked offenders, breeders, financiers, and venue operators acting together, under additional racketeering charges on top of the underlying fighting felony.

What Happens to Dogs Seized in a Michigan Dogfighting Case

Michigan law does not allow seized fighting dogs to simply go back to their owners once a case concludes. The statute governing MCL 750.49 explicitly addresses confiscation of the dog, award of the dog to an animal control agency, required notice, a holding period, security deposit or bond requirements, euthanasia procedures, and forfeiture of animals, equipment, devices, and money connected to a violation.

This is not a theoretical concern. In one of the largest cases in state history, federal and state law enforcement raided multiple locations across Detroit in January 2023, leading to what the Animal Legal Defense Fund described as the largest dogfighting bust ever in Detroit, Michigan, resulting in the seizure of 133 dogs from multiple locations across the Detroit area. Many of those dogs needed extensive veterinary care after years of being used in fighting operations.

Once seized, dogs typically go through veterinary evaluation, behavioral assessment, and a legal holding period before a court determines their final disposition, which can include placement with rescue organizations, long-term sanctuary care, or, in cases involving dogs too dangerous or traumatized to be safely rehomed, euthanasia.

Animal Ownership Bans and Other Consequences After a Dogfighting Conviction in Michigan

A felony conviction under MCL 750.49 carries consequences that extend well past the prison term or fine. Michigan law requires courts to impose an ownership restriction as part of sentencing: as part of the sentence for a violation of subsection (2), the court shall order the person convicted not to own or possess an animal of the same species involved in the violation for 5 years after the date of sentencing. Failure to comply with that order is punishable as contempt of court, which can mean additional jail time separate from the original sentence.

Beyond the ownership ban, a felony conviction creates a permanent criminal record that can affect employment, housing applications, and firearm rights. For a broader look at how Michigan law treats animal cruelty convictions and their downstream effects, see this guide to animal cruelty laws in Michigan.

Federal Dogfighting Law That Applies Alongside Michigan Law

Michigan residents charged with dogfighting offenses can face federal exposure in addition to state charges, particularly when a fighting operation crosses state lines or involves interstate commerce. Federal animal fighting law has its own history and limitations worth understanding. Legal scholarship on the subject notes that dogfighting was not federally criminalized until 1976, several years after the RICO statute was enacted, and even then, the crime remained a misdemeanor until 2007.

That late federal criminalization explains why dogfighting still is not listed as an explicit predicate offense under the federal RICO statute itself. A legal analysis of the issue points out that dogfighting is not listed as any one of the one hundred predicate offenses specifically enumerated within the RICO statute and required to establish a pattern of racketeering. As a result, federal prosecutors sometimes rely on peripheral charges tied to a dogfighting operation, such as illegal gambling or interstate transport of animals, to bring federal racketeering pressure to bear, rather than charging dogfighting itself as the RICO predicate.

In practice, this means a single dogfighting investigation in Michigan can generate both a state prosecution under MCL 750.49 and a separate federal case, with federal charges often focused on the interstate or financial dimensions of the operation rather than duplicating the state’s core fighting charge.

What Michigan Dogfighting Law Does Not Cover: Breed, Hunting, Herding, and Lawful Training

MCL 750.49 targets conduct, not breed, species predisposition, or lawful training methods. Michigan does not ban dog ownership based on breed under its fighting statute, and owning a breed sometimes stereotyped as a “fighting breed” is not, by itself, evidence of a crime. If you own or are considering a breed often associated with these stereotypes, this guide to American Bully laws in Michigan explains what state and local law actually regulates.

The statute also builds in exceptions for legitimate working and service animals. Dogs trained or used by law enforcement agencies, as well as dogs trained by recognized guide dog associations for people who are blind or have disabilities, fall outside the statute’s definition of a dog trained for fighting. For more on how Michigan treats working dogs with legal protections, see this overview of service dog laws in Michigan.

Lawful activities that might superficially resemble “fighting” to an untrained observer, such as competitive herding trials, properly supervised protection-sport training, or legal hunting with dogs, are not swept into the statute either, since the law targets staged fights, baiting, and the deliberate infliction of fighting injuries rather than legitimate working-dog activity. If your interest runs toward hunting-dog use specifically, this guide to coyote hunting laws in Michigan covers the rules for using dogs in a lawful hunting context.

How to Report Suspected Dogfighting in Michigan

If you suspect a dogfighting operation, your local police department or county sheriff’s office is the right first call, since dogfighting is a state felony that local law enforcement has jurisdiction to investigate. You can also contact your county animal control agency, which often works alongside police on cruelty and fighting investigations.

Because Michigan treats animal fighting as a RICO predicate offense, tips involving multiple people, repeated events, or money changing hands can support a larger racketeering investigation, not just a single fighting charge. That makes detailed reporting especially valuable to investigators.

Pro Tip: When reporting, note dates, times, vehicle descriptions, property addresses, and any visible injuries on the animals if it is safe to observe them. Avoid approaching the property yourself. Detailed, specific information gives law enforcement a stronger basis to pursue a warrant.

For general guidance on pet-related legal questions in Michigan beyond dogfighting, this overview of pet laws in Michigan is a useful starting point for understanding how the state’s broader animal welfare framework fits together.