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HSUS >> Legislation and Laws >> Federal Legislation >> Cruelty Issues
The President Signs Landmark Animal
Fighting Legislation
May 3, 2007
Today, President Bush signed
into law a bill that will help law
enforcement rid the United States
of dogfighting, cockfighting, and
other forms of animal fighting.
Dogfighting and cockfighting
crimes are rampant in the United
States, with individuals arrested
every week in scores of locations
under state laws. The vast
The fighting dog's life is full of misery.
underground networks generate
pervasive animal cruelty, drug trafficking, illegal gambling, public corruption and
even violence and murder. The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act,
which passed Congress with large bi-partisan support, will give law enforcement a
stronger tool to crack down on this illegal activity.
"Animal fighting is a barbaric and inhumane practice, and it is fitting and appropriate that
we now have a national policy condemning and criminalizing this form of organized
animal cruelty," states Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of
the United States, which has led the national battle against animal fighting and been
the primary advocate for this federal legislation.
The law takes effect immediately. It provides felony penalties for interstate commerce,
import and export related to animal fighting activities, including commerce in cockfighting
weapons. It will make it much harder for criminals who engage in dogfighting and
cockfighting to continue their operations. Each violation of the federal law may bring up
to three years in jail and up to a $250,000 fine for perpetrators.
Cockfighting is outlawed in every state except Louisiana, although there is mounting
pressure in that state to ban the practice. Many states still have misdemeanor penalties
for cockfighting. The federal law slaps felony penalties on interstate cockfighting
trafficking, and this should provide an enormous deterrent for the tens of thousands of
people involved in this criminal industry.
The law will have a devastating impact on major breeders of fighting animals, who
depend on customers from all over the United States and abroad. Dog kennels rely on
transporting their fighting dogs across state lines and across the world to customers.
The new law should substantially curb the transport of fighting animals across state and
U.S. borders. The HSUS is already seeing some major breeders of fighting roosters
cutting back on production.
The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act will help end the export of fighting
animals to other countries. Selling roosters to customers in the Philippines and other
nations can be lucrative for American cockfighters. The new law puts increased
pressure on the airlines to stop shipping roosters to cockfighting hot spots.
The new law had been introduced by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), Rep. Earl
Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) in the House, and by Sen.
Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in the Senate. It had also been endorsed by more than
500 groups, including all major humane organizations, the American Veterinary Medical
Association, the National Chicken Council, the National Sheriffs' Association, and more
than 400 local law enforcement agencies covering all 50 states.