In the United States, cockfighting is now illegal in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The last state to implement a state law banning cockfighting was Louisiana; the Louisiana State Legislature voted to approve a Louisiana ban in June 2007.[55] The ban took effect in August 2008.[56] Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have made cockfighting a felony. It is illegal in all 50 states to knowingly attend a cockfight and/or bring a minor to the event. On February 7, 2014 President Obama signed the Farm Bill which contained the U.S. H.R. 366/S. 666—Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act. The final bill includes a provision making it a federal crime to attend or bring a child under the age of 16 to an animal fighting event[.] [57] The Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act would make it a federal offense to knowingly attend an organized animal fight and would impose additional penalties for bringing children to animal fights. Violators would face up to one year in prison for attending a fight, and up to three years in prison for bringing a minor to a fight. [58] In the District of Columbia it is illegal to be a spectator at cockfights. Animal welfare activists continue to lobby for a ban on the sport. Cockfighting remains legal in the United States territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, although in 2006, the Virgin Islands adopted a law banning modifications such as the use of artificial spurs. The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, a federal law that made it a federal crime to transfer cockfighting implements across state or national borders and increasing the penalty for violations of federal animal fighting laws to three years in prison became law in 2007. It passed the House of Representatives 368-39 and the Senate by unanimous consent and was signed into law by President George W. Bush.[59] The Animal Welfare Act was amended again in 2008 when provisions were included in the 2008 Farm Bill (P.L. 110-246). These provisions tightened prohibitions on dog and other animal fighting activities, and increase penalties for violation of the act.[60] On 8 February 2014, law enforcement made New Yorks largest cockfighting bust where they seized 3,000 birds and arrested roughly 70 people across three counties. The investigation was deemed the name Operation Angry Birds and they made three raids: a cockfight in Queens, a pet shop in Brooklyn, and a farm in Plattekill. The raids were performed by the task force, along with New York State Police, the Homeland Security Department and the Ulster County sheriffs office. Upon entry of the Queens cockfight, authorities found the birds in small cages with razors attached to them. The 70 individuals who attended the event were taken into custody. All but 9 of these men were let go. The nine men were given felony arrests and animal
Posted on: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 17:58:29 +0000
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