AR-News: (VA) Lynchburg News and Advance Supports Tougher Animal Fighting Law

[Political Animal]

Editorial

Animal fighting law needs sharper teeth

Lynchburg News & Advance

Friday, April 2, 2004




It’s hard to imagine what pleasure people can get from
watching dogs tearing each other apart or roosters
slashing each other with  razor-sharp knives attached
to their legs. 

But an estimated 40,000 people fight dogs in this
country, and pit bull fighting is suspected in Central
Virginia. 

Cockfighting takes an even bigger toll, with an
estimated  50,000 people raising cocks for battle in
California alone. 

Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states, though
cockfighting is legal in Louisiana and New Mexico. 

The Humane Society of the United States is pushing for
federal legislation that would boost the penalties
from misdemeanors to felonies for the illegal movement
of fighting animals across state lines. 

While beefing up laws against this barbaric ritual
seems like a no-brainer, the legislation is stuck in a
House committee chaired by U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte,
R-Virginia. The Sixth District congressman, who
represents Lynchburg and chairs the Committee on
Agriculture, has not moved this law along to the full
House. 

“There’s no excuse for inaction on this,” says Wayne
Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society. 

Pacelle’s right. It’s hard to imagine what can be
gained by letting this legislation languish. If humane
considerations aren’t enough, there are other
consequences to tacitly allowing the raising of
animals as fighting machines. 

Pit bulls, in particular, are branded as dangerous
animals that need to be restrained at all times. But
Lorrie Lee, a Naruna resident who has rescued and
rehabilitated American Pit Bull Terriers for eight
years, said the animals are not born with the desire
to kill. It’s beaten into them. 

“The dog’s nasty for a reason,” Lee said. “Because the
owner made them that way.” 

When a pit bull does escape a chain or pen, the
results can be devastating. Children and adults alike
are mauled and even killed by animals doing what
they’re trained to do. 

Cockfighting has caused even bigger concerns among
mainstream agriculture. An outbreak last fall of
exotic Newcastle disease in California appears to have
started in birds smuggled from Mexico. The highly
infectious disease spread to four other states, and
authorities killed more than 3.3 million birds and
spent $90 million to try to contain the disease. 

The legislation that Goodlatte is sitting on would
authorize up to two years of prison time for
violations of the federal animal fighting law, rather
than the misdemeanor penalty of one year in jail under
current law. 

Prosecutors are understandably reluctant to pursue
such cases without felony-level penalties. Most states
have felony-level penalties for animal fighting. Only
in Idaho, Iowa and Wyoming is dogfighting just a
misdemeanor. 

The Humane Society offers up to a $2,500 reward for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of
dogfighters. 

Anyone who knows about this illegal activity should
report it, and Virginians should contact Congressman
Goodlatte and urge him to pass the commonsense
legislation that would place tougher penalties on this
cruel animal abuse.


This story can be found at:
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031774648011&path=!news!opinion


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