WASHINGTON - The HSUS, the nation’s largest animal protection
organization, today called on South Carolina Commissioner of
Agriculture Charles Ray Sharpe to resign following his
indictment on several charges related to activities designed to
protect an organized network of cockfighters.
Sharpe is charged with 12 counts, including extortion, money
laundering and making false statements to federal law
enforcement officials. U.S. Attorney J. Strom Thurmond, Jr.
announced the charges this morning and stated that Sharpe has
been arrested.
“If these charges are upheld at trial, Commissioner Sharpe
will have been found to have abetted a barbaric form of animal
cruelty, broken a range of federal laws, and completely
violated the public’s trust,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of
The HSUS. “In exchange for thousands of dollars, he has
allegedly used his connections and his stature to provide
protection for an organized criminal network of cockfighters.
Commissioner Sharpe should immediately resign his position as
Agriculture Commissioner because of the very serious nature of
these accusations.”
According to a statement released by Thurmond’s office, the
indictment by a federal grand jury states that Sharpe allegedly
solicited and received payments from the South Carolina
Gamefowl Management Association (SCGMA) and their associates.
SCGMA, according to the U.S. Attorney, is an organization of
individuals “interested and involved in the raising, breeding
and fighting of gamefowl.” The indictment also alleges that
Sharpe attempted to “intercede on SCGMA’s behalf with local law
enforcement.”
“Cockfighting is a gruesome and barbaric practice, and it
should receive no protection under the law. Any official who
helps cockfighters play their cruel practice is working against
the general interest of the citizens they are sworn to
protect,” added Pacelle.
Pacelle points out that breeding and transporting fighting
roosters for cockfighting is implicated in the spread of
diseases, such as Exotic Newcastle Disease, that can decimate
the poultry industry.
In recent years, The HSUS has called on the Internal Revenue
Service to shutter the operations of the United Gamefowl
Breeders Association, a national cockfighting organization that
is registered with the IRS as an agricultural organization.
“The UGBA and similar groups at the state level, such as the
South Carolina Gamefowl Management Association, are organized
criminal networks masquerading as agricultural groups,”
concluded Pacelle.
South Carolina is home to Grit and Steel magazine, which is
based in Gaffney and is the self-proclaimed “world’s foremost
game fowl journal.” The monthly subscription magazine was
founded in 1899 and has been operating continuously ever since.
The current circulation is reported to be 5,000.
The Humane Society of the United States has more than eight
million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream
voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals
and equine protection, wildlife and habitat protection, animals
in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. The
HSUS protects all animals through legislation, litigation,
investigation, education, advocacy and fieldwork. The
non-profit organization, which is celebrating its 50th
anniversary in 2004, is based in Washington, DC and has 10
regional offices across the country. On the web at
www.hsus.org.
