One week into the 110th Congress, tough animal fighting legislation has been launched in both chambers. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., John Ensign, R-Nev., Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act (S. 261) Jan. 11, mirroring a House bill introduced the week before.
The legislation would raise from a misdemeanor to a felony the crime of transporting an animal across state or international borders for animal fighting, making it punishable by up to three years in jail. The bill would also prohibit the interstate and foreign commerce in knives and gaffs designed for use in cockfighting. Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., David Vitter, R-La., Wayne Allard, R-Co., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., are original cosponsors of the bill.
In the House, the measure was introduced by Reps. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., and it gained 225 co-sponsors within the first week.
The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act enjoys overwhelming support on Capitol Hill. In the previous Congress, a nearly identical measure passed the Senate unanimously and gained 324 cosponsors (about three-quarters of the House and more than nearly any other pending bill) in the House, but it was stymied by then-chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc. The new chairman, John Conyers, D-Mich., has been a consistent supporter of the legislation.
Dog fighting is a felony in 48 states, and cockfighting is a felony in 33. In addition to animal welfare advocates, law enforcement agents strongly back the bill. The National Sheriffs' Association and more than 400 state and local law enforcement agencies have lent their support.
