AR-News: Augusta Chronicle- Cockfighting Measure Wins Industry Support

[Political Animal]

Augusta Chronicle

Cockfighting measure wins industry support 

Web posted Tuesday, April 6, 2004
By Stephen Gurr | South Carolina Bureau 
AIKEN - A push to make cockfighting a felony under
federal law got a boost this week with an endorsement
from the nation's poultry industry.

Meanwhile, a court hearing scheduled for 107
defendants charged with misdemeanor cockfighting in a
November raid near Monetta was delayed.

The National Chicken Council, the lobbying arm of the
U.S. poultry industry, came out in support of a U.S.
House measure that would make it a felony to possess
or transport gamefowl for fighting purposes. 

The council is supporting the legislation in part
because it says unregulated trade in fighting birds
can spread Newcastle disease and avian influenza,
which, though not harmful to humans, can devastate
poultry flocks.

The law would also outlaw the interstate sales of
cockfighting tools such as gaffs, the spurlike knives
that are attached to the feet of fighting birds and
are sold through magazine ads and online sites.

Cockfighting is a felony in 31 states, but South
Carolina law makes the offense a misdemeanor
punishable by a $1,000 fine or 30 days in jail. 

Animal rights advocates say lax laws in South Carolina
encourage cockfighting rings such as the one raided in
November by Aiken County sheriff's officials at an
arena set up on remote farmland.

Wayne Pacelle, the vice president of the Humane
Society of the United States, says states such as
South Carolina are hotbeds for the blood sport.

"They're much more likely to operate in a state with a
misdemeanor penalty because they assume law
enforcement won't bother with it, or if they do,
they'll get a slap on the wrist," Mr. Pacelle said. 

Lisa Wright, a spokeswoman for bill sponsor U.S. Rep.
Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., says the law could lead to a
bigger crackdown on cockfighting by federal
authorities.

"It would be more worth the investment of limited
resources of federal prosecutors who have to exercise
discretion in what cases to pursue," Ms. Wright said.

The Chicken Council's endorsement should guarantee the
law's passage, Mr. Pacelle said.

"With mainstream agriculture urging its rapid passage,
it should be an absolute no-brainer for any elected
official to support passing this legislation," Mr.
Pacelle said. "A felony penalty will drive these
people out of business."

The bill is in a House agriculture subcommittee. It
has already been backed by 196 House members, and a
companion bill in the Senate has 51 co-sponsors.

In the Aiken County cockfighting case, a court hearing
scheduled for this week in Monetta Summary Court was
canceled, a court official said Monday. 

No reason was given for the delay, and Lexington
lawyer Billy Walker did not return a message left with
his office Tuesday.

The defendants have formed a legal defense fund out of
Gaffney and plan to challenge the constitutionality of
the law as it relates to spectators who are cited.


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