WASHINGTON -Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization, will testify today before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security to urge lawmakers to swiftly approve legislation that will give law enforcement greater power to crack down on illegal animal fighting.
Mr. Pacelle will underscore the need for the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, H.R. 817, with evidence that animal fighting is not only cruel and barbaric, but regularly associated with other crimes such as illegal gambling, drug dealing, public corruption, and human violence. In 2006, five people have been killed in incidents associated with animal fights, including a double homicide in Starr County, Texas this month.
Dog fighting, hog-dog fighting and cockfighting are well-organized criminal enterprises. Tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes hundreds of thousands, are wagered at a single animal fighting event, and current misdemeanor penalties do not provide a sufficient deterrent to people raking in this much money.
"If we are serious as a society about stamping out animal cruelty, we begin that process by shutting down staged animal fights," states Pacelle. "Congress should slam the door on barbaric dogfights, cockfights, and hog-dog fights by passing the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act at its earliest opportunity."
The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act is sponsored in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mark Green (R-8 th/WI). Identical legislation introduced by Senator John Ensign (R-NV), a veterinarian, passed the Senate by unanimous consent in April 2005. The legislation would establish felony-level jail time (up to two years) for violators of the federal animal fighting law banning interstate and foreign transport of animals for the purpose of illegal fighting. The bills also will prohibit interstate and foreign commerce in knives and gaffs designed specifically for cockfighting.
H.R. 817 has 227 cosponsors, which is more than half of the House. Many members of Congress have also called for expeditious passage of the bill because of the relationship between cockfighting and the spread of avian influenza.
The National Sheriff's Association along with more than 400 other law enforcement agencies from all 50 states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Chicken Council, and the American Veterinary Medical Association have all endorsed the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act.
Corporal David R. Hunt, deputy with the Franklin County Ohio Sheriff's Office will also testify at the hearing today. Hunt, a 25-year veteran of the police force, is a part of the Special Investigations Unit, which conducts vice and narcotic investigations. Cpl. Hunt has also been investigating illegal dog fighting for the past four years.
Other testimony to be introduced at the hearing will be from South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who has been a trailblazer with his dedication to ridding animal fighting from his state.
"There are an estimated 40,000 professional dogfighters who sell their purpose bred animals nationwide, and the United Gamefowl Breeders Association (UGBA), a national organization that represents cockfighters, reports that cockfighting is a multi-million dollar industry," states Attorney General McMaster in his testimony. "The massive, criminal network of animal fighters impacts not only the thousands of animals who are subjected to the cruelties of animal fighting, but also South Carolina communities and law enforcement which must address, at great cost, the crimes associated with it--including illegal gambling, drug dealing and human violence."
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The Humane Society of the United States represents more than 9.5 million members and constituents. The non-profit organization is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research, equine protection and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy, and field work. The group is based in Washington and has numerous field representatives across the country. On the Web at www.hsus.org.
