[Vision2020] [Spam] The President Signs Landmark Animal FightingLegislation!!

[lfalen]

It is good that this bill has passed and has been signed. The problem now is enforcement. When I was in Arizona cockfighting as illegal, but it was still a big business.  Fighting cocks soid for over $1000.00. Hopefully a federal law will be easier to enforce. Not holding my breath.

Roger
-----Original message-----
From: "Saundra Lund" sslund at roadrunner.com
Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 12:45:17 -0700
To: "'Vision 2020'" vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Spam] [Vision2020] The President Signs Landmark Animal FightingLegislation!!

> Visionaires:
> 
> Drats -- I suppose it was only a matter of time until I had to send
> President Bush a thank-you note (even a stopped clock is right twice a day),
> and today was the day  :-)))  For inquiring minds, yes -- I've already sent
> it  :-)
> 
> Yet here in Idaho we remain in the Dark Ages  :-(((
> 
> Now more than ever it's of vital importance for Dr. Trail's efforts at
> reforming some of our animal laws to be successful!  Otherwise I fear Idaho
> will become even more of a haven for these miscreants who will have a
> negative impact on our quality of life as well as put strains we can
> ill-afford on our criminal justice system.
> 
> http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/federal_legislation/cruelty_issues/anim
> al_fighting_law_signed.html
> OR
> http://tinyurl.com/224op3
> 
> "The President Signs Landmark Animal Fighting Legislation 
>   
> May 3, 2007 
>  
> The fighting dog's life is full of misery.  
> 
> Today, President Bush signed into law a bill that will help law enforcement
> rid the United States of dogfighting, cockfighting, and other forms of
> animal fighting.
> 
> Dogfighting and cockfighting crimes are rampant in the United States, with
> individuals arrested every week in scores of locations under state laws. The
> vast underground networks generate pervasive animal cruelty, drug
> trafficking, illegal gambling, public corruption and even violence and
> murder. The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, which passed
> Congress with large bi-partisan support, will give law enforcement a
> stronger tool to crack down on this illegal activity.
> 
> "Animal fighting is a barbaric and inhumane practice, and it is fitting and
> appropriate that we now have a national policy condemning and criminalizing
> this form of organized animal cruelty," states Wayne Pacelle, president and
> CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, which has led the national
> battle against animal fighting and been the primary advocate for this
> federal legislation.
> 
> The law takes effect immediately. It provides felony penalties for
> interstate commerce, import and export related to animal fighting
> activities, including commerce in cockfighting weapons. It will make it much
> harder for criminals who engage in dogfighting and cockfighting to continue
> their operations. Each violation of the federal law may bring up to three
> years in jail and up to a $250,000 fine for perpetrators. 
> 
> Cockfighting is outlawed in every state except Louisiana, although there is
> mounting pressure in that state to ban the practice. Many states still have
> misdemeanor penalties for cockfighting. The federal law slaps felony
> penalties on interstate cockfighting trafficking, and this should provide an
> enormous deterrent for the tens of thousands of people involved in this
> criminal industry. 
> 
> The law will have a devastating impact on major breeders of fighting
> animals, who depend on customers from all over the United States and abroad.
> Dog kennels rely on transporting their fighting dogs across state lines and
> across the world to customers. The new law should substantially curb the
> transport of fighting animals across state and U.S. borders. The HSUS is
> already seeing some major breeders of fighting roosters cutting back on
> production. 
> 
> The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act will help end the export of
> fighting animals to other countries. Selling roosters to customers in the
> Philippines and other nations can be lucrative for American cockfighters.
> The new law puts increased pressure on the airlines to stop shipping
> roosters to cockfighting hot spots. 
> 
> The new law had been introduced by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), Rep. Earl
> Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) in the House, and by
> Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), Sen. Arlen Specter
> (R-Pa.), and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in the Senate. It had also
> been endorsed by more than 500 groups, including all major humane
> organizations, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National
> Chicken Council, the National Sheriffs' Association, and more than 400 local
> law enforcement agencies covering all 50 states."
> 
> 
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