Harrison County, MS — Animal-welfare advocates applauded federal officials at the ICE Homeland Security Task Force and the Border Enforcement Security Task Force for the arrest of more than two dozen people who were gathered in a barn near Lizana, Mississippi, that had a fighting arena lined with plexiglass and rows of seating for spectators.
Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, issued the following statement regarding the cockfighting bust in Harrison County, Mississippi on Saturday.
“Cockfighting is a barbaric form of animal abuse, and the United States should exhibit no tolerance for it,” said Pacelle. “Mississippi has been a hotspot for illegal animal fighting, and it’s past due for the federal government to take action to enforce our national law forbidding all activities associated with staged battles between animals.”
Mississippi has one of the weakest anti-cockfighting laws in the nation, and it has not been upgraded in more than 100 years. That’s why federal law enforcement engagement is so vital in the Magnolia State.
Pacelle, who is spearheading the campaign to pass the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act in Congress, said that animal fighting is always bound up with other criminal conduct. “Never do we see a cockfight where animal cruelty is the only crime,” he added. Illegal gambling, narcotics trafficking, illegal immigration, and money laundering are comingled with this barbarism, and it’s time to shut down all of the trafficking of fighting birds and the fights themselves.”
Legislation in Congress: S. 1454 — the FIGHT Act
Animal Wellness Action urges Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith to cosponsor S. 1454, the FIGHT Act, led by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Cory Booker, D-N.J. The legislation is endorsed by more than 800 agencies and organizations, including the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys Association, the United Egg Producers, and the American Gaming Association.
On a local level, the FIGHT Act is endorsed by the Mississippi Animal Rescue League, the Oktibbeha County Humane Society (Starkville), and Southern Cross Animal Rescue (Laurel).