The HSUS Asks Federal Court To Uphold New Federal Felony Animal Fighting Law

December 17, 2008

Frivolous Lawsuit Alleges a Constitutional Right to Fight Chickens

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Humane Society of the United States, represented by former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and Arnold & Porter LLP, filed a friend-of-the-court brief Tuesday with a federal district court in Ohio seeking to protect the nation's federal animal fighting law from a trivial constitutional challenge mounted by individuals aligned with the United Gamefowl Breeders Association — a national front group for criminal cockfighting rings.

The HSUS is asking for dismissal of the lawsuit, which claims that the new federal animal fighting law infringes on plaintiffs' alleged constitutional rights to travel and associate for the purpose of fighting animals. The Complaint seeks an injunction against several senior federal officials, as well as a declaration of plaintiffs' constitutional "right to travel...[with] chickens intended for fighting."

"Neither the First Amendment nor any other constitutional provision includes the right to engage in felony animal cruelty," said Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president & chief counsel for animal protection litigation and research for The HSUS. "Congress has rightfully cracked down on interstate and foreign commerce in fighting animals and weapons, especially in light of the violence, drug trafficking, and other serious social ills that animal fighting brings to our communities."

The Gamefowl Breeders filed a similar suit in 2003, which was dismissed on all counts by a federal district court in Louisiana in 2005.

President Bush signed a new federal anti-animal fighting law in 2007, upgrading the federal penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting from misdemeanor to felony status. Congress strengthened these laws again in July 2008, after the plaintiffs filed this case. It is now a federal felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, not only to fight animals, but also to possess or train animals with the intent to fight them.

The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Western District of Virginia recently indicted the Gamefowl Breeder's Virginia chapter as part of a public corruption scandal for allegedly using cockfighting profits to funnel campaign contributions to state and federal politicians. 

Copies of The HSUS's filing today, as well as the lawsuit itself, which were filed in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, are available upon request.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.