Anti-cockfighting bill scheduled for Tuesday hearing; needs your immediate support.
The Legal Animalby Claire Davis
The latest attempt to make cockfighting illegal in Louisiana will face a significant hurdle Tuesday, when the bill is heard in front of a Senate committee that has made a tradition of killing such measures without a vote.
But this year, the sponsor of the bill has some hope that the measure might make it to a floor vote. Why? Fear of the bird flu, coupled with the knowledge that the eyes of the country are still focused on Louisiana.
“I’ve been here about 11 years, and I’ve never seen a time in the past where I thought this bill would have a chance. . .but the time is probably ripe for something like this to pass, if it ever can,” says Republican Senator Art Lentini, sponsor of the measure.
“People are a little more sensitive to the risk of the avian bird flu, and there also has been a lot of talk about changing certain negative aspects of our image since the hurricane, with all the help and assistance we have received,” Lentini says.
Lentini is urging people to contact the Senate agriculture committee before it hears the bill on Tuesday, to voice their support for the bill. (See bottom of story for more information on what you can do to help.)
Lentini’s bill would ban the transportation or breeding of birds for cockfighting, and prohibit anyone from organizing, financing or promoting a cockfight, with a fine of $1,000 and up to six months in jail for a first offender.
Cockfighting is illegal in 48 states, with only Louisiana and New Mexico still sanctioning the barbaric practice.
The blood sport involves pitting two specially-bred roosters, or “gamecocks,” against one another in a fight to the death, for the pleasure of spectators and the benefit of high-stakes gamblers. To maximize gore, the birds’ legs are outfitted with razor-sharp steel blades, or gaffs, which resemble three-inch-long ice picks. During the fights, the birds often suffer punctured lungs, broken bones, and pierced eyes, but they are not allowed to retreat. Birds who are blinded but not killed are sometimes later pitted against one another in so-called “blinker derbies.”
“I don’t even call it a sport,” Lentini says. “It is barbaric, and I don’t think we should be torturing animals for the enjoyment of humans.”
In addition to gambling, cockfighting has also been tied to other violence and the presence of illegal drugs. Young children often attend the spectacle and cheer on the gamecocks, often participating in wagers on their favorites, or enlisted to finish off the birds who are not quite killed in the fight.
Despite several attempts over the past several years to outlaw the practice, cockfighting remains legal in Louisiana, with birds specifically exempted from the state’s anti-cruelty statutes. Polls have demonstrated that more than 80 percent of Louisiana voters oppose the practice. However, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco has refused to take a stand on the issue one way or the other, and State Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom defends the blood sport, according to Lentini.
Each time an attempt has been made to outlaw cockfighting in the past several years, the measures have been sent to the house or senate agriculture committees, which have made a tradition of killing the bills without allowing a floor vote.
This year, Lentini attempted to sidestep the senate agriculture committee by taking his bill through the Senate Judiciary C. Committee, which unanimously passed the measure out to the floor for a vote. Lentini’s plan was foiled, however, when senators voted to send the bill back down to the agriculture committee.
Now the bill is scheduled for a hearing Tuesday in front of the deadly agriculture committee, whose chair, Democratic Senator Mike Smith, is said to be pro-cockfighting.
But in part due to the bird flu scare, some cockfighting opponents are giving the bill a better chance than in previous years. This year the bill may have a 50-50 chance to get out of committee, according to Pinckney Wood, a longtime cockfighting opponent and president of the Louisiana-based Humane HEART (Health Education and Abuse Resolution Task Force).
“According to the best judgment of the health officials involved, they believe that the bird flu is spreading with the movement of the gamecocks of Asia,” Wood says.
The exportation of gamecocks is believed to spread the disease among bird populations, and the gruesome practices associated with cockfighting are thought to transmit the virus to humans. According to an April 14, 2005, Washington Post article, “Cockfighting, popular in many parts of Southeast Asia, is suspected of spreading the highly lethal bird flu virus from poultry to humans through contact with blood, feces and droplets of fluid.”
This connection with bird flu has caused an unlikely alliance between animal welfare activists and the national poultry farmers’ lobby. Organizations such as the National Chicken Council have voiced opposition to cockfighting, claiming it is a likely vehicle for spreading bird flu, and thus a serious threat to their industry.
“I have spoken to vets from Pilgrim’s Pride, Sanderson Farms and Tyson Foods, and they are all very concerned,” Wood says. “One of them said the movement of gamecocks is the biggest threat to their industry.”
In addition to the bird flu scare, Wood and Lentini hope the state legislators are conscious that the attention of the nation is focused upon them following Katrina, and that they will continue to need the nation’s help to rebuild.
“Hopefully the legislature will wake up to that fact and realize that if we want to attract assistance and investment in Louisiana to help in the recovery, that this cockfighting thing is not helping at all,” Wood says.
The Louisiana cockfighting ban, SB 652, needs your help. Please contact the members of the Senate Agriculture, Forestry, Aqriculture, and Rural Development Committee on MONDAY, May 15 to tell them that they should give the full senate the chance to vote on the cockfighting ban. Tell them that outlawing this cruel and barbaric activity will improve the reputation of their state, and protect their citizens and poultry population from the deadly bird flu.Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development Committee
All senators may be reached by phone at their Capitol offices through the Senate receptionist: 225-342-2040
Senator Kenneth M. "Mike" Smith (Chairman)
318-628-3075 (local office); smithmi@legis.state.la.us
Senator Gerald J. Theunissen (Vice-Chairman)
337-824-0376; theunisg@legis.state.la.us
Senator Robert J. Barham
318-244-5582; barhamr@legis.state.la.us
Senator Walter J. Boasso
504-270-9258; boassow@legis.state.la.us
Senator D. A. "Butch" Gautreaux
800-562-3204; lasen21@legis.state.la.us
Senator Joe McPherson
318-484-2211; lasen29@legis.state.la.us
Senator Ben Nevers
985-732-6863; email: websen@legis.state.la.us