Action shows ongoing need for FIGHT Act as response to animal fighting, spread of bird flu
EL PASO, Texas — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy applaud El Paso County’s Animal Welfare Unit for its recent raid on an alleged cockfighting operation in El Paso, Texas. Upon arrival at the scene, they discovered deceased roosters and cockfighting paraphernalia. A search warrant was executed, resulting in the seizure of more evidence and the rescue of 16 roosters and 27 hens.
Detectives identified 60-year-old Isidoro Martinez Amparan as the organizer of the event. He was arrested and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on cockfighting charges, with a $10,000 bond.
“The authorities’ response underscores the illegality of cockfighting in Texas, which includes organizing, participating in, or even spectating such events,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “El Paso County’s Animal Welfare Unit deserves major credit for spearheading this raid.”
Pacelle said that in addition to being a barbaric abuse of the animals involved, cockfighting presents a clear and present danger to the communities where the events are held, owing to the frequent presences of illegal drugs, weapons, and sex trafficking. Moreover, he said, the link between cockfighting and the spread of bird flu means it poses a risk to human health and the nation’s economy.
Pacelle referred to cockfighting as a “viral superspreader” and said it presents a direct and documented threat to the state’s poultry industry. (Texas is the fifth-largest egg producer in the country.) Scientists for the groups said that rampant cockfighting and trafficking of fighting birds could further spread H5N1 among the state’s 26 million egg-layer hens.
“Cockfighting is not a petty offense, but a form of organized crime that threatens not only to spread cruelty but also an avian disease that could create chaos for the state’s multi-billion-dollar poultry industry,” said Pacelle. “H5N1 is driving higher prices for consumers, collectively costing them $20 billion in higher egg prices alone during the last three years, and cockfighting could extend the reach and virulence of the disease.”
Dr. Jim Keen, director of veterinary sciences for the Center for a Humane Economy, noted that the USDA has overseen the killing of 166 million birds, the vast majority of them laying hens and this mass killing has resulted in a constriction in the national egg supply.
“Cockfighting birds were responsible for two-thirds of all U.S. outbreaks of virulent Newcastle disease, a dangerous viral poultry disease very similar to bird flu,” said Dr. Keen. “It is axiomatic that trafficking and smuggling of fighting birds constitute extreme risk for our poultry industry, especially when so many non-nationals working in our poultry houses hail from countries that allow cockfighting.”
A set of federal lawmakers are backing the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act to strengthen national laws against cockfighting and dogfighting, legislation that is supported by Animal Wellness Action and the Center.
The FIGHT Act would enhance enforcement of these laws by banning online gambling on animal fights; halting the shipment of mature roosters (chickens only) through the U.S. Postal Service (it is already illegal to ship dogs through the mail); allowing a civil right of action for private citizens against animal fighters after proper notice to federal authorities; and enhancing criminal forfeiture penalties to include real property for those convicted of animal fighting crimes.
The measure is endorsed by 760 organizations, including the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas, San Antonio Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation and Houston Animal Activism. Texas Representatives Colin Allred and Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia cosponsored the legislation in the 118thCongress.
Animal Wellness Action provides rewards of $2,500 to citizens who report cockfighting crimes and whose information leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Citizens can email information to [email protected].