Deputies found 20 people at cockfight, including children
Hermiston, OR — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, today applauded deputies from the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office for arresting a man allegedly connected to a cockfighting ring in Hermiston.
“We applaud Umatilla County Sheriff’s deputies who disrupted this barbaric and criminal cockfighting ring,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, which is leading a national campaign against staged animal fighting. “Animal fighting is bound up with other crimes degrading the safety of our communities.”
Deputies seized 30 roosters used for fighting, along with other evidence. Cockfighting is a Class C felony in Oregon.
Pacelle’s groups are at the forefront of passing the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act to crack down on the barbaric and lawless practices of dogfighting and cockfighting.
U. S. Rep. Cliff Bentz and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley have cosponsored the fight act. This incident occurred in Sen. Bentz’s district.
The FIGHT Act would allow for citizen suits against perpetrators, ban online gambling on animal fights, allow for criminal forfeiture of property used to commit animal fighting crimes, and forbid the use of the U.S. mail to ship adult roosters.
The FIGHT Act has endorsements from 750 organizations and agencies, including the Florida Sheriffs’ Association and the National Sheriffs’ Association, from the domains of animal welfare, law enforcement, agriculture, gaming, and conservation. No other animal welfare legislation has as much bipartisan support as H.R. 2742 and S. 1529.