Animal rights activists have lashed out at Oscar winner Jamie Foxx after he spoke out in defense of dog fighting ring leader Michael Vick on TV.

The American footballer has admitted to funding a dog fighting operation as part of a plea agreement to lighten a possible prison sentence.

The disgraced Atlanta Falcons quarterback has also revealed that "collective efforts" by him and two others caused the deaths of at least six dogs.

News of Vick's plea agreement, which he will officially file in a Virginia court on Monday (27Aug07) came a day after Ray star Foxx's ill-advised comments about the controversy.

The actor told U.S. TV news show Access Hollywood, "It's a cultural thing...

I used to see dogs fighting in the neighborhood all the time... Mike probably just didn't read his handbook on what not to do as a black star.

"I know that cruelty to animals is bad, but sometimes people shoot people and kill people and don't get time... I give Mike the benefit of the doubt."

Foxx's comments have enraged People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals president Ingrid Newkirk, who has blasted the actor for attempting to justify Vick's sordid secret life.

She fumes, "It is cheap and dirty and wrong to call this a cultural thing, unless Foxx believes that cruelty is a black thing - when it isn't.

"It may be his thing, but it is not a black thing."

Vick, who was bombarded by animal right protestors when he arrived in court on Friday (24Aug07), faces 12 to 18 months in prison for his part in the illegal dog fighting ring.

 

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