Kentucky State Police have stepped up their work to combat numerous cockfighting rings, but even more enforcement action required to root out staged fighting
Bourbon County, KY — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy applauded the Kentucky State Police (KSP) and Bourbon County Sheriff’s Department for its recent raid on an alleged cockfighting operation. More than 70 roosters were found dead or severely injured at the scene. Six people have been charged with second-degree cruelty to animals, a Class A misdemeanor, punishable up to 12 months in prison.
“Cockfighting in Kentucky is a persistent and ugly problem, and I am so pleased that Kentucky’s law enforcement community is treating this form of criminal animal cruelty with the urgency it deserves,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “The Kentucky State Police deserves our appreciation for conducting a raid at a major animal-fighting venue.”
Kentucky is one of a half dozen or so states where cockfighting is only a misdemeanor offense.
KSP’s enforcement work is complicated by Kentucky’s weak anti-cockfighting provisions. However, a bill by state Senator Greg Elkins, R-Winchester, would make cockfighting a felony and prohibit a range of activities associated with cockfighting, including attending a fight. Senate Bill 39 is currently pending in the Kentucky Senate, and the animal welfare groups are calling on legislative leaders to work for its enactment.
“I congratulate KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett and his staff for their effort to flush this criminal element from Kentucky,” said Steve Hindi, president of Showing Animals Respect, who has gone undercover at Kentucky animal fights and partnered with Animal Wellness Action on other investigations in the state. “They know, as well as I do, that this must be just the beginning of their work against staged animal fights.”
Cockfighting also poses a direct and documented threat to the state’s $1.7 billion poultry industry. Scientists for the groups said that rampant cockfighting and trafficking of fighting birds could further spread H5N1 among the state’s more than 1,000 commercial broiler bird and laying-hen farms.
“Cockfighting is not a petty offense, but a form of organized crime that threatens not only to spread cruelty but also an avian disease that could create chaos for the state’s economy,” Pacelle said. “H5N1 is driving higher prices for consumers, collectively costing them $20 billion in higher egg prices alone during the last three years, and cockfighting could extend the reach and virulence of the disease.”
Dr. Jim Keen, director of veterinary sciences for the Center for a Humane Economy, noted that theUSDA has overseen the killing of 166 million birds, the vast majority of them laying hens and this mass killing has resulted in a constriction in the national egg supply.
“Cockfighting birds were responsible for two-thirds of all U.S. outbreaks of virulent Newcastle disease, a dangerous viral poultry disease very similar to bird flu,” said Dr. Keen. “It is axiomatic that trafficking and smuggling of fighting birds constitute extreme risk for our poultry industry, especially when so many non-nationals working in our poultry houses hail from countries that allow cockfighting.”
The FIGHT Act would enhance enforcement of these laws by banning online gambling on animal fights; halting the shipment of mature roosters (chickens only) through the U.S. Postal Service (it is already illegal to ship dogs through the mail); allowing a civil right of action for private citizens against animal fighters after proper notice to federal authorities; and enhancing criminal forfeiture penalties to include real property for those convicted of animal fighting crimes.
The measure is endorsed by 760 organizations, including the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys’ Association, Kentuckians Against Cockfighting, and Ohio County Sheriff’s Office. Kentucky Representative Morgan McGarvey cosponsored the legislation in the 118th Congress.
Animal Wellness Action provides rewards of $2,500 to citizens who report cockfighting crimes and whose information leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Citizens can email information to [email protected].