The federal Farm Bill passed in 2008 included several animal welfare provisions, with one strengthening the federal law against dogfighting and cockfighting and building on the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act which was enacted a year earlier. The new measure upgraded the federal penalties for animal fighting from three years to five years in prison. Importantly, it made it a federal felony to possess and train fighting animals for use in an animal fighting venture, and allowed federal prosecutions of animal fighting rings with an interstate commerce connection regardless of whether the particular animals fighting moved in interstate commerce.
In 2008, the Farm Bill included a measure that gave police
and prosecutors a new tool in their kit to crack down on
animal fighting.
Last week, a federal jury in South Carolina convicted six cockfighters under the new law, in the first prosecution in a case where animals were not transported across state lines for purposes of fighting them. The week-long trial revealed not only the underlying crime, but the inner workings of a secret cockfighting ring. Sgt. John Lewis of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources had gone undercover at a cockfighting arena in rural Swansea, and described in dramatic fashion how his cover was blown—surrounded by 200 angry cockfighters with his backup team miles away—and he literally bluffed his way out and escaped with his life.
John Monk’s week-long reporting for The State highlighted the clandestine nature of the operation, and the danger and difficulty of rooting out hardcore animal fighting operations in rural areas. He quoted assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams, saying of the cockfighters, “They thought nobody would know what was going on,” and adding that cockfighting participants had elaborate screening procedures to keep outsiders away from their rural arenas.
As The State further reported on the trial, “Prosecutors used a novel approach in making their case: They argued the cockfighters were in violation of the federal interstate commerce act because they used tools, cotton balls, syringes and a pair of scales that were made outside of the state. Prosecutors even flew in an expert from England to testify about a bottle manufactured by his company in Alabama.”
The law passed by Congress gave police and prosecutors a new tool in their kit to crack down on animal fighting, and it’s working. It adds the full power of the federal government and enlists thousands of federal law enforcement agents into the ongoing state efforts to take down organized animal fighting operations and vigorously prosecute those who abuse animals and turn them into murderous fighting machines. It brings us one step closer to eradicating dogfighting and cockfighting in America, and all the crimes associated with this depravity.
Thanks to Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Representatives John Conyers (D-Mich.), Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) who introduced and pushed for these provisions. Their hard work will land animal fighters in prison and spare animals from suffering the cruelty of staged combat.
