WASHINGTON, D.C. – Animal Wellness Action today thanked the Maine Prosecutors’ Association and Maine Sheriffs’ Association for endorsing the bipartisan FIGHT Act (Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Animal Trafficking Act, H.R. 3946 / S.1454) — landmark legislation designed to give federal, state, and local authorities the tools they need to dismantle organized dogfighting and cockfighting operations nationwide.
In letters to members of Maine’s congressional delegation, the associations spotlighted the entrenched cruelty and public-safety dangers posed by animal fighting. The Prosecutors’ Association cited a 2022 South Carolina case in which an alleged dogfighting ring kept 275 dogs chained to barrels or in makeshift pens without adequate food, water, shelter, or veterinary care. Several of the rescued dogs ultimately came to Maine shelters for rehabilitation and adoption, demonstrating both the national scope of the problem and the state’s compassion for its victims.
The Sheriffs’ Association emphasized that dogfighting and cockfighting are often linked with illegal weapons, narcotics trafficking, and other violent crimes, creating serious risks to community safety. “Our deputies see firsthand the ripple effects of animal fighting in our communities,” said Mary-Anne LaMarre, executive director of the Maine Sheriff’s Association, in her letter. “The FIGHT Act provides commonsense tools to cut off this cruelty at its roots and protect both animals and people from the collateral harm of these operations.”
“Animal fighting causes untold suffering and undermines public safety,” said Shira Burns, executive director of the Maine Prosecutors’ Association, in her letter. “The FIGHT Act would give federal authorities, as well as state and local prosecutors, the critical tools necessary to prevent, investigate, and punish organized animal fighting operations. We respectfully urge Maine’s delegation to once again add its name in support and help move this vital legislation swiftly toward passage.”
“Seasoned prosecutors and sheriffs recognize that animal fighting is not only barbaric cruelty, but an organized criminal enterprise bound up with gambling, weapons, and intimidation,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “We applaud both the Maine Prosecutors’ Association and the Maine Sheriffs’ Association for taking a stand and call on Congress to pass the FIGHT Act to give law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to stamp out this underground criminal activity.”
The FIGHT Act addresses critical gaps by banning simulcasting and gambling on animal fighting events, prohibiting the shipment of mature roosters through the mail, authorizing forfeiture of property used in these crimes, and creating a private right of action to hold offenders accountable. It has earned the backing of the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys Association, and more than 900 organizations nationwide spanning agriculture, gaming, law enforcement, and animal welfare sectors.
“On behalf of our supporters in Maine, I’d like to thank the members of both the Maine Prosecutors’ Association and the Maine Sheriffs’ Association for their endorsements of the FIGHT Act and for their strong appeals to our federal delegation in Maine to add their names as co-sponsors, enabling swift passage of this legislation,” said Gina Garey, Animal Wellness Action’s Maine state director. “Maine will be a safer place for all, especially the animals targeted and abused in these criminal enterprises.”
U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1, and Jared Golden, D-2, are cosponsors of H.R. 3946. Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, is a cosponsor of S. 1454.
To find more about the FIGHT Act: Animal Fighting is the Pits