Amazon.com and Animal Fighting: A Timeline

Instead of acting quickly when the offensive and illegal animal fighting materials were pointed out, Amazon.com has dragged its heels on doing the right thing. Here are the milestones in the exchange between The Humane Society of the United States and Amazon.com about its sales of cockfighting magazines and other animal fighting materials.

• July 2005
  The HSUS asks Amazon to stop selling The Gamecock and The Feathered Warrior because they are "bursting with advertisements for fighting birds and cockfighting paraphernalia" and thus are "blatantly violating federal law."  No response is received.



• June 21, 2006
  In response to inquiries by The Associated Press, Amazon.com Inc. joins other video retailers in pulling dogfighting video "Hood Fights, Vol. 2, The Art of The Pit" from its sale items.



• July 18, 2006
  HSUS lawyers notify Amazon's CEO and its corporate general counsel that "HSUS intends to commence a civil action against Amazon.com in the District of Columbia based on Amazon.com's sale of two magazines—The Gamecock and The Feathered Warrior—that promote and further cockfighting activities in violation of federal law."

The legal notice informs Amazon that "unless these magazine are removed immediately, The HSUS will have no choice but to initiate legal action" under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits corporations from selling goods in the District in any manner that is contrary to a "requirement of federal law."



• Feb. 5, 2007
  The HSUS investigates the "Sally Gap" cockfighting pit in Williamsburg, Ky. and documents a massive, illegal operation. The Sally Gap pit came to the attention of The HSUS when it was advertised for sale in The Gamecock.



• Feb. 8, 2007
  The HSUS sues Amazon.com and several publishers and distributors (The Underground Pitbull Breeders Association, StreetHeatDVD.com, and the publishers of The Gamecock and The Feathered Warrior), based on their sales of animal fighting videos and magazines on Amazon.com.

The HSUS holds a press conference in Seattle (where Amazon is based), announcing the filing of the civil suit under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Act. The suit alleges that the animal-fighting paraphernalia sale and distribution scheme operated by Amazon violates the Animal Welfare Act and the Federal Depiction of Animal Cruelty Act.

The HSUS also files a legal petition in Seattle, asking the King County District Attorney to initiate quo warranto proceedings to stop Amazon from engaging in illegal business practices in Washington state.

• Feb. 14, 2007
  The Seattle Post Intelligencer runs an editorial taking Amazon to task for its illegal sales of animal fighting materials, stating, "We have to wonder where the company draws a line between asserting its rights and exercising its judgment about what it wants."
  
  
• February 26, 2007
  The San Francisco Chronicle runs an op-ed by Wayne Pacelle denouncing Amazon's defiance of federal law and support of cockfighting and stating, "The First Amendment protects speech. It does not protect criminal conduct. So you have to wonder why on earth Amazon.com, the retail giant, insists on trafficking in criminal materials in the name of free speech."



• March 8, 2007
  The Richmond Beach Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, sends a letter to Amazon CEO Jeffrey Bezos "with concerns about Amazon's sale of materials promoting the cruel, illegal activity of cockfighting" and asking the company to cease its promotion of cockfighting.



• May 4, 2007
  Amazon and its co-defendant animal fighting magazine publishers ask the Court to gut key animal fighting provisions of the federal Animal Welfare Act so that they can continue to profit from cruelty to animals.

Posted June 6, 2007

Related Links

Amazon.com and Animal Fighting

Amazon.com and Animal Fighting

Amazon.com Faces Lawsuit for Illegal Cockfighting Magazines

HSUS Sues Amazon.com over Animal Fighting Videos and Magazines