Recent Murders Demonstrate Need for Tougher Animal Fighting Laws

February 28, 2006

WASHINGTON- A series of recent shootings related to animal fighting has left two men dead and another in critical condition in three separate incidents on both U.S. coasts, underscoring the importance of promptly enacting pending federal legislation to combat dogfighting and cockfighting.

Earlier this month, a man was shot and killed at a cockfight in North Carolina after an altercation with another man, according to local law enforcement. Also this month, a man in California was shot and killed reportedly after a dispute over a cockfight. Last week, another man was shot at a North Carolina farmhouse where police uncovered a major dogfighting operation. The victim is currently in critical condition, according to news reports.

The Humane Society of the United States and law enforcement agencies have long known that animal fighting is a magnet for other violence and crimes. The recent shootings have given renewed urgency to federal legislation that would set felony penalties for interstate transport and foreign import or export of fighting animals. The Humane Society of the United States today called on Congress to pass H.R. 817, the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act.

"It's bad enough that animal fighting causes horrible animal suffering to hundreds of thousands of animals every year," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States.  "But dogfighting and cockfighting venues are mixing vessels for a whole range of other criminal conduct, including drug dealing, illegal gambling and, as these recent murder cases tragically demonstrate, human violence."

A snapshot of the incidents:

• February 5, 2006—Rosendo Torres Raygoza was shot and killed at a cockfight in Wilson County, North Carolina after an argument with the suspected killer who is still at large.

• February 19, 2006—Wang Lee of Sacramento, Calif. was shot and killed after a dispute over a cockfight. Police have arrested a suspect in the case.

• February 24, 2006—A scene at a kennel that breeds dogs for fighting in Johnston County, North Carolina turned deadly as Danny Ray Edwards was shot by a man who police have identified but who is still at large. Edwards is in critical condition.  Authorities seized 47 fighting dogs at the scene and charged another man, farm owner Tristan Hinson, with felony dog fighting.

The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act is sponsored in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mark Green (R-8th/WI).  Identical legislation introduced by Senator John Ensign (R-NV) passed the Senate by unanimous consent in April 2005.  It currently awaits action in the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-5th/WI).  H.R. 817 has 221 cosponsors, which is over half of the entire House of Representatives.  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 388 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.

"There is no more time to waste in adopting this broadly supported and bipartisan legislation," Pacelle said.  "Felony-level penalties will give law enforcement the power it needs to paralyze organized animal fighting and wipe it off the streets, out of the back woods, and wherever else it festers in America."

For more information on the legislation and on animal fighting, go to www.hsus.org

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 9.5 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 animals and sustainable agriculture.  The HSUS protects all animals through legislation, litigation, investigation, education, advocacy and fieldwork.  The group is based in Washington, DC and has numerous field representatives across the country.  On the web at www.hsus.org.