The Humane Society of the United States Predicts a Quick Dismissal of Cockfighting Case
COLUMBUS — The Humane Society of the United States announced today that members of the United Gamefowl Breeders Association — a national front group for criminal cockfighting rings — have again filed a lawsuit seeking to establish a Constitutional right to engage in animal fighting. The Gamefowl Breeders filed a similar suit in 2003, which was dismissed on all counts by a federal district court in Louisiana in 2005.
"The idea that the Constitution of the United States confers a right to engage in animal cruelty for gambling and amusement is absurd on its face," said Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for The HSUS and an adjunct professor of animal law at Georgetown University Law Center. "This case looks more like a publicity stunt by a dying industry than a serious Constitutional challenge."
In 2007, President Bush signed a new federal anti-animal fighting law, capping a six-year campaign by The HSUS in Congress to upgrade the federal penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting from misdemeanor to felony status.
The lawsuit claims that the new federal felony animal fighting law infringes on the plaintiffs' alleged right under the Due Process and Free Speech clauses of the Constitution to engage in activities related to the fighting of chickens. The Complaint seeks an injunction against the President and several other senior federal officials, as well as a declaration of plaintiffs' Constitutional "right to travel . . . [with] chickens intended for fighting."
The HSUS intends to intervene in the lawsuit to protect the nation's federal animal fighting laws, and to make sure those laws are fully applied and enforced.
Cockfighting is illegal in all 50 states, and it is a felony in 35. Besides being cruel to animals, cockfighting is closely connected to other crimes such as gambling, drug dealing, illegal firearms sales and even homicide. In 2007, The HSUS worked with animal advocates to push for successful state laws banning cockfighting in New Mexico and Louisiana, the last two states that allowed the practice.
Copies of the lawsuit, filed in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on February 7, 2008, 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.
