WASHINGTON – In a letter faxed today to Amazon President and CEO Jeffrey Bezos, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) called on the company to stop selling The Gamecock, Grit and Steel, and The Feathered Warrior, three magazines that promote illegal cockfighting activities. The national animal protection organization alleges that the magazine publishers are violating federal law.
In the letter to Bezos, HSUS President and CEO Wayne Pacelle states: "The Gamecock, Grit and Steel, and The Feathered Warrior are three nationally circulated cockfighting magazines that are bursting with advertisements for fighting birds and cockfighting paraphernalia. It is a federal crime to use interstate mail for the purpose of promoting cockfighting and, in light of this clear prohibition, The HSUS asks that you immediately stop the sale of the three magazines."
In cockfighting, the roosters, bred and trained to fight, are placed in a pit to fight each other to the death for spectators' gambling and entertainment purposes. The birds are equipped with three-inch-long razor-sharp knives, known as "gaffs," that resemble curved ice picks. The roosters fight until they can continue no longer -- with serious injury and death inevitable consequences. The losing birds, some still alive, are tossed into trash heaps.
Cockfighting is illegal in 48 states and a felony in 32. It is a federal crime to use the U.S. Postal Service or any interstate agency for purposes of furthering or promoting cockfighting or any other animal fighting activity.
In his letter to Bezos, Pacelle writes, "As a national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection of animals, we recognize the value of free speech. The Gamecock, Grit and Steel, and The Feathered Warrior, however, are not vehicles for free speech, but in fact are in the business of furthering the commerce of the cockfighting industry and its associated illegal activities. Cockfighters have no constitutional right to promote, encourage and profit from the illegal activity of cockfighting, as the U.S. Congress has made clear."
"These magazines are the glue that holds the national cockfighting industry together. In the pages of these magazines, cockfighters can find advertisements for fighting birds, knives and gaffs that they strap to the birds' legs, and all manner of drugs and stimulants to clot the birds' blood or boost their adrenaline in the fighting pit," adds Pacelle. "These magazines allow the cockfighting fraternity to promote illegal cockfighting, obtain updates on legislation, and get the latest news on the winners at cockfighting derbies throughout the country."
In order to toughen penalties for cockfighting, The HSUS, as well as 345 state and local law enforcement agencies and the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA), have endorsed the Federal Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2005 (H.R. 817 and S. 382). The legislation, authored by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Rep. Mark Green (R-WI), would upgrade penalties for interstate or foreign commerce in birds, dogs, or other animals used for fighting purposes, and would create a new crime for interstate transport of cockfighting implements. The offenses would become felonies under the proposed legislation.
For more information on animal fighting legislation and related information, go to www.hsus.org.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization representing more than nine million members and constituents. The non-profit organization is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research 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.
