For more than a decade, animal protection advocates have fought in Tennessee to make animal fighting a felony.
Year after year, the Humane Society of the United States has failed in its efforts in Tennessee and other Southern states, but this year its members are hoping for a different outcome.
On Monday, state Rep. Janis Baird Sontany, D-Nashville, along with the Humane Society, announced the bill would be reintroduced in the Tennessee Legislature this year. Humane Society officials say the chances of passage are improved by recent arrests.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration last week announced it had arrested over a two-week period in Tennessee 41 people who are accused of being part of a cockfighting and drug enterprise. The arrests were centered in the Nashville area.
The roundup, called Project Reckoning II, has resulted in 30 other arrests in Texas, Mississippi, Nevada, Kentucky, North Carolina and Oklahoma, according to a DEA news release.
Article: Cockfights in state may again be felony
Article:Animal legislation faces tough fight
COCKFIGHTING ARRESTS
Suspects arrested last month in Nashville on cockfighting, gambling and drug charges were rounded up as a part of the DEA’s Project Reckoning II operation. In the nationwide roundup, the DEA has arrested 621 individuals and seized about $71.2 million in U.S. currency, 17,329 kilograms of cocaine, 1,291 pounds of methamphetamine, 19 pounds of heroin, 57,243 pounds of marijuana, 258 vehicles and 224 weapons.
“In part, the (animal fighting) bills have failed because there has been some resistance by legislators in rural areas,” said Leighann McCollum, Tennessee director of the Humane Society. “There is some misconception that cockfighting is the same as it was 100 years ago. It’s actually a very intricate gambling enterprise, an outlet for drug distribution.”
The bill also would apply to dogfighting, in which there have been several arrests in Tennessee over the last two years.
“I carried the bill last year, and it’s a hard bill to pass,” said Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro. “Cockfighting is politically connected, and people like it. They call their legislators and put pressure on them to kill it. I don’t know how deep this goes, but there is a lot of money involved.”
Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty to federal dog-fighting charges in 2007. He’s currently serving a three-year prison term, but may be released early this year to a halfway house and then be released on probation in July, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
If the bill passes, organizing an animal fight or training an animal to fight would be a Class E felony, which comes with an 11-month, 29-day jail term and a $2,500 fine. Being a spectator would be a Class A misdemeanor, which carries the same jail term and fine. The felony sentence would have a mandatory minimum of six months in jail, said John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues for the Humane Society.
“The thing about cockfighting is that it’s an act with no socially redeemable value,” Mr. Goodwin said. “It’s done for gambling and for blood loss.”
The felony sentence is necessary because cockfighters regard Tennessee’s current penalties as “simply the price of doing business,” he said. The current law makes cockfighting a Class A misdemeanor which often results in a small fine and little to no jail time, Mr. Goodwin said.
When the bill comes before the Legislature, the Humane Society plans to remind lawmakers of the December raids as well as arrests made in 2008.
The suspects arrested in last month’s roundup also face a variety of drug trafficking charges, including conspiracy to distribute marijuana and various federal gambling violations, the DEA reported.
Officials said the suspects are part of a Mexican-based drug smuggling organization known as the Gulf Cartel.
“If we are going to fight the war on drugs and crime, this seems like an obvious place to start,” Sen. Ketron said.
Adam Crisp covers education issues for the Times Free Press. He joined the paper's staff in 2007 and initially covered crime, public safety, courts and general assignment topics. Prior to Chattanooga, Crisp was a crime reporter at the Savannah Morning News and has been a reporter and editor at community newspapers in southeast Georgia. In college, he led his student paper to a first-place general excellence award from the Georgia College Press Association. He earned ...
It's time for Tennessee to put some "teeth" into its animal cruelty laws. Locally, HES has helped prosecute several dog fighting cases only to see the people convicted slapped on the wrist. Now, to get the judges to throw the book at these low-lifes!
I think it is time for PETA and HES to leave people alone! They think they have to police every state and tell everyone what to do. I for one am tired of these liberal backed groups that want to think for everyone. I own game roosters and they are some of the most magnificent animals on the planet, only doing what is natural to them. These idiots that are commenting in the article know nothing about gamefowl and don't care. They will not have a problem exterminating animals they deem unworthy of life. All they care about is how much money these "animal rights" groups can put in their pockets!
Or login with:
New Account