At the 2025 Sangamon County Fair, two capuchin monkeys were dressed in costumes and strapped to dogs racing around a small track, an act Illinois has since banned. Marc Ayers, Illinois state director for Humane World for Animals, attended the disturbing Banana Derby performance and said the monkeys repeatedly grasped at the guardrails as the dogs rounded the track. Big cats were still being used in traveling performances across Illinois. Culpepper & Merriweather Circus toured

April 8 is National Dog Fighting Awareness Day, established by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 2014 as part of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. Dogfighting is a felony offense in all 50 states and a federal crime under the Animal Welfare Act , which has prohibited animal fighting ventures since 1976. Federal convictions may bring about penalties of up to 5 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine per count . Attending a dogfight or brin