Animal Wellness Action has investigated this trade from the U.S. to the Philippines, uncovering a vast trade involving tens of thousands of animals for animal fighting derbies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy lauded a bipartisan team of federal lawmakers for introducing H.R. 7371, the No Flight, No Fight Act, to halt the trafficking and smuggling of fighting birds from the United States to dozens of foreign countries for deadly battles in barbaric cockfighting derbies.
Recently, the two organizations uncovered an illegal fighting-bird smuggling ring based in the Dallas area that shipped birds on Korean Airlines to the Philippines, in violation of U.S. law that prohibits such transports for staged animal fights. Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday, H.R. 7371 makes enforcement easier by restricting the transport of adult roosters and sends a clear signal to commercial airlines that they must no longer carry this contraband or profit from an illegal trade tied to organized crime, violence, and animal cruelty.
H.R. 7371 is led by Reps. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Dina Titus, D-Nev., and is assigned to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Original cosponsors include Jefferson Van Drew, R-N.J.; Troy Carter, D-La.; Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; Christopher Smith, R-N.J.; Vern Buchanan, R-Fla.; Lance Gooden, R-Texas; Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla.; Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz.; Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.; and Salud Carbajal, D-Calif. Rep. Nehls is chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation.
“Criminal U.S. cockfighters have become the suppliers of fighting animals to the world, and this legislation cuts off animal trafficking that features animal cruelty, illegal gambling, and other forms of organized crime,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “Airlines should not be serving as cargo carriers for cartels and other illegal operators, and this bill finally provides plain-language standards to direct air carriers to stop these transports on the front end.”
Animal Wellness had a presence at the World Slasher Cup, which ran from Jan. 25–31, and featured 800 animal fights and a crowd of thousands, including Americans who illegally transported hundreds of birds on commercial aircraft just for these battles. “Dozens of American cockfighters took part in the fights and illegally supplied fighting roosters conscripted into incredibly bloody battles,” reported Kevin Chambers, senior investigator for Animal Wellness Action. “No fight was called off until at least one bird was killed, and many battles resulted in both animals perishing.”
Col. Tom Pool (ret.), DVM, MPH, former Guam Territorial Veterinarian and former chief of the U.S. Army Veterinary Command, said, “I’ve seen firsthand how entrenched and barbaric the cockfighting industry is in places like the Philippines and Vietnam. It is an organized crime racket involving murder, money-laundering, and high-stakes gambling, with $13 billion wagered in a single year on e-sabong (online cockfighting) in the Philippines alone.”
Dr. Pool added that the current global H5N1 pandemic got its start from the trafficking of fighting birds originating in Thailand and now spread across the globe. “American cockfighters cannot use ground transport or cargo ships to move these birds,” Dr. Pool added. “That’s why ending airline transport of these birds is one of the most effective ways to disrupt this trade. It’s already illegal but the No Flight, No Fight Act leaves no room for cockfighters or airlines to ship fighting animals.”
“By restricting the use of commercial aircraft to transport fighting birds, this bill strikes at the logistical backbone of an illicit global enterprise, while preserving clear exemptions for legitimate agricultural trade,” said Marcus Rust, the chief innovations officer for Rose Acre Farms in Seymour, Ind. “Fighting birds are distinctly different from birds raised for meat or egg production, and only cockfighting animals carry the extraordinary value that justifies these expensive international shipments.” Rose Acre Farms is one of the top three egg-producing companies in the United States with production in eight states. It has lost five million birds so far in the H5N1 bird flu outbreak still coursing through avian species.
Violence tied to cockfighting operations has resulted in mass casualties in Mexico and Ecuador, and hundreds of murders have been linked to cockfighting-related disputes in the Philippines.
The No Flight, No Fight Act, which restricts the air shipment of adult chicken roosters, includes exemptions for the transport of these birds by registered agricultural businesses.
The legislation complements another bill in Congress to improve enforcement of laws against animal fighting, the FIGHT Act, H.R. 3946 and S. 1514. That bill, which is assigned to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, has been endorsed by more than 1,050 groups and agencies across the nation, including the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys Association, Small and Rural Law Enforcement Executive Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, American Gaming Association (AGA), United Egg Producers, Rose Acre Farms, Vital Farms, Indiana State Poultry Association, Ohio Poultry Association, and the North Central Poultry Association.