Animal
Fighting Enforcement Acts
736 and H.R. 1532
Sponsors: Senators John
Ensign (R-NV), Wayne Allard (R-CO), and Maria
Cantwell (D-WA); Representatives Roscoe Bartlett
(R-MD/6th) and Robert Andrews (D-NJ/1st)
NM co-sponsors:
NONE
APV position: SUPPORT
Bill Status: S. 736
has been referred to the Senate Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
H.R. 1532 has been referred to the House Agriculture
Committee, Livestock and Horticulture Subcommittee
**All provisions of S. 736 were included in
the Senate’s “Healthy Forests”
bill but then stripped by the House-Senate
conference committee.
What the law would do: The
bill authorizes felony-level jail time for
violations of the animal fighting provisions
of the Animal Welfare Act, increasing the
maximum penalty from 1 year to 2 years imprisonment;
prohibits interstate commerce in knives and
gaffs designed specifically for cockfighting
purposes; and improves and updates provisions
regarding the seizure and disposition of animals
involved in violations.
Why it is needed:
Since the first animal fighting provisions
of the Animal Welfare Act were enacted in
1976, federal authorities have advanced only
three cases—even though USDA has received
innumerable tips from informants and requests
to assist with state and local prosecutions.
Increased penalties will provide a greater
incentive for federal authorities to pursue
animal fighting cases.
Cockfighting is banned in 47 states and it
is likely that New Mexico will enact a ban
in the near future. Interstate transport of
fighting roosters is banned under the Animal
Welfare Act. Given these facts, banning the
interstate commerce in cockfighting weapons—knives
and gaffs—is a logical extension of
the law.
Download Bills in PDF:
H.
R. 1532
S
736
Click
for APVNM Legislative Campaign on Cockfighting
in New Mexico
