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| The HSUS/Carol Guzy |
Badly wounded birds were found at a recent
cockfighting raid in Virginia. |
The Humane Society of the United States and the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty today announced a campaign in support of legislation that would immediately ban cockfighting in the state. The announcement came the same day that the President signed a federal bill strengthening animal fighting laws.
Louisiana is the only state to allow the cruel bloodsport.
State Senator Art Lentini, who introduced the legislation, joined the animal welfare organizations at the State Capitol to unveil an ad campaign pushing for the ban. The bill, S.B. 39, would end cockfighting immediately upon Governor Kathleen Blanco's signature. The Louisiana House Agriculture Committee also held a hearing on other anti-cockfighting bills, one of which would allow cockfighting to continue for three years.
To kick off the public campaign, two sixty-second radio ads began broadcasting today. They showcase polls that found more than 80 percent of Louisiana voters support a ban on cockfighting. They also highlight that nearly every newspaper in the state is calling for an immediate ban and that the state's entire Congressional delegation recently supported the new federal law.
Listeners are urged to call their state representatives and senators and voice their support for an immediate ban.
"Allowing cockfighting to continue during a phase-out period serves no purpose other than continuing cruelty to animals, illegal gambling, and the exposure of children to this violence," said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The HSUS. "Forty-nine states have banned cockfighting, and not a single one included a phase-out. They did it because lawmakers and voters recognized the time was right to end this inhumane practice, just as the time is now right in Louisiana."
