WASHINGTON— Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), today praised North Carolina Governor Michael Easley for signing into law H. 888. Gov. Easley signed the bill, which upgrades the penalty for cockfighting from a misdemeanor to a Class I felony, yesterday.
Pacelle also praised the leadership efforts of Representative Cary Allred who skillfully shepherded the bill to passage, and other members of the North Carolina Senate and House who approved the bill in mid-August.
"We thank the Governor for signing this bill into law and taking a powerful stand against the awful spectacle of pitting animals against one another in fights that end in severe injury or death for the animals involved," said Wayne Pacelle. "This conduct has no place in North Carolina, and the lesser penalties have proved wholly inadequate in stopping these vicious, bloody crimes as well as potentially dangerous diseases."
North Carolina has now joined with 31 other states that have adopted felony cockfighting laws, recognizing that misdemeanor penalties do not deter this organized criminal activity that often involves thousands in gambling dollars.
The United Gamefowl Breeders Association, a national organization that represents cockfighters nationwide, estimates that there are more than 3800 people in North Carolina who raise cockfighting birds.
Cockfighting birds are known carriers of avian diseases that threaten agriculture and humans. Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman has declared that cockfighting led to the spread of exotic Newcastle disease in the U.S. in 2002-2003 and the eradication of this poultry disease cost taxpayers $200 million dollars.
The North Carolina Poultry Federation also stated in an August 2005 letter: "Today, if an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease should occur here in North Carolina, we could expect a devastating economic impact to our $14 billion annual poultry industry."
At the federal level, Congress is considering the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2005 (H.R. 817 and S. 382), which was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate in April, and is now pending in the House Judiciary Committee. The legislation seeks to upgrade penalties for interstate or foreign commerce in dogs, birds, or other animals for fighting purposes, and to create a new crime for interstate transport of cockfighting implements. Three of North Carolina's representatives in Congress—Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-3), Brad Miller (D-13), and David E. Price (D-4)—are co-sponsors of the federal bill. It is endorsed by the National Sheriff's Association, law enforcement agencies in all 50 states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Chicken Council, and fifteen law enforcement agencies in North Carolina.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization representing more than 9 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.
