Topeka, KS — Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, issued the following statement regarding the recent arrest in Topeka on charges of cockfighting and animal cruelty.
“Cockfighting is a barbaric form of animal abuse, and it is a felony under Kansas and federal law,” said Pacelle. “In addition to enforcing existing laws, it’s crucial to pass the federal FIGHT Act to give law enforcement more tools to combat an enterprise that not only is vicious and cruel, but that threatens the viability of avian agriculture and spills out other forms of criminality and violence in our communities.”
Legislation in Congress: S. 1454 — the FIGHT Act
Animal Wellness Action is urging Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran to cosponsor S. 1454, the FIGHT Act, led by Senator John Kennedy, R-La. That legislation is endorsed by the Kansas Sheriffs’ Association, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the National District Attorneys’ Association. On a more local level, it has also been endorsed by Anderson County Attorney’s Office, Cherokee County Attorney’s Office, Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Haskell County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson County District Attorney’s Office, Labette County Sheriff’s Office, Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office, Morton County Attorney’s Office, Pratt County Sheriff’s Office, Reno County Sheriff’s Office, Rice County Attorney’s Office, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, Wilson County Attorney’s Office.
A fact sheet on the FIGHT Act is available here.