The controversial Dog Wars app has been renamed KG Dogfighting and is back up on the Android Marketplace.
The site says it was updated Saturday two days after the head of the Los Angeles police union urged Google to permanently pull the virtual dogfighting game app from its phone app marketplace.
In the letter sent Thursday to Google Chief Executive Officer Larry Page, Los Angeles Police Protective League President Paul M. Weber urged Google “to do the right thing and ban this game permanently.”
“The game teaches users how to breed, train, fight, medicate and kill virtual dogs,” Weber wrote on behalf of the union’s 9,900 rank-and-file members. “The entire concept is repulsive and sickening,” Weber said, noting that the app simulates dogfighting, which is a felony offense in all 50 states.
The Dog Wars app for the Android smartphone encourages players to “Raise your dog to beat the best” and allows players to train a virtual pit bull to fight other virtual dogs and build street cred that “puts money in your pocket and lets you earn more in fights.”
The company’s website notes that the game player has a “gun for police raids and can inject the dog with steroids.”
A Google representative said the application was “removed based on a trademark infringement complaint” but did not immediately say whether the app would be sold again if those issues were resolved. Google did not immediately respond to questions about the game’s renaming.
Animal welfare groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, have echoed the L.A. police group’s sentiments, as has Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who was convicted and imprisoned for dogfighting.
Kage Games, the creators of the Dog Wars application, said this week that the game was meant to educate the public on the evils of animal cruelty.
What can the public do to help get rid of this game?
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What kind of company encourages a disgusting illegal type of activity that harms innocent beautiful animals. You need to go right back where M. Vick belongs again!!! And I’m not talking about on the fricking football field!!!!!
I’m afraid the games creator are using the excuse that it’s just a video game and if it is banned it will be an infringement of free speech.The only reason it was removed was that there was a game called “Dog Wars” already available, this game was quite innocent despite the title. Google is quite willing to capitulate to China’s pressure but the only way this game will be removed is if everyone boycotts all of their services and hurts them in their pocket, it’s the only language they understand, spread the word.
If you own an android phone you MUST report this game as abusive and inappropriate content. That is the only way to get this application removed!
Thank you Melinda for asking the question about how to get rid of this game.
The people who made this game are sick as well as the (humans if we can call them that) who participate in the fighting of dogs in real life. They all need to be stopped and prosecuted to the fullest. We need to have harsher laws for those who abuse animals in the United States.
How thick have you got to be to think this is a good idea for a game?
Hi, I’m a 14 year old animal activist, and it sickens me that kids my age are learning to abuse Pit Bulls and learn about dog fighting from this game. This kind of game is one of the reasons why 3,000 Pit Bulls are put down every day in shelters for being “Vicious”. They’re not vicious! It’s the people who abuse them and train them to fight who are vicious! Please, if you’ve ever loved a dog, protest against this game.
If you have a android phone go on and flag it. It will let you flag it as many times as you want so if you have time flag it. I just did 20 times to see if it will work and it does you don’t have to wait inbetween for it to say submited as soon as you do go back in and do it again. That is just a horrible thing to have on your phone…. its so cruel!!
This is absolutely disturbing!! This promostes dog fighting and I am ashamed to be an Android user!! Will look into getting a new phone!!
This is absolutely disturbing!! This promostes dog fighting and I am ashamed to be an Android user!! Will look into getting a new phone!!
Great idea. And while you’re at it, I assume you’ll be protesting against the Nose Candy App which promotes cocaine use, Pimp Daddy which promotes prostitution, and the thousands of apps that portray killing human beings. Or do you only care about this app because it’s about dogs?