Interestingly, I spotted this news at NOLA.com, which is fitting, I suppose, considering Louisiana is the only other state where cockfighting remains legal. The 31-11 vote sends the ban to the House, where it has passed before. With Governor Bill Richardson's vocal support of the bill, it's pretty much a done deal. Finally.
Several groups, led by animal-rights activists, have been trying to get a ban passed in the state for more than two decades. The latest development adds momentum for a movement that even the cockfighters acknowledge is showing no signs of slowing.Well, if you don't spend it on a last-ditch effort to save your pastime, I don't know what you are going to spend it on, since cockfighting's going to be illegal soon. It's a shame, though. All that money could be spent for a much better cause.
"Politically, it's over with," said Ronald Barron of Artesia, president of the New Mexico Gamefowl Breeders Association. "But we'll file lawsuits. We've got a lot of money to do it."
It's been informative watching the bill get watered down in order to assure its passage. Politics at work:
Penalties were reduced, so a first offense would be a petty misdemeanor, a second offense a misdemeanor, and a third or subsequent offense a fourth-degree felony.Opposition to the bill included concerns over a slippery slope on animal legislation, including worries "that rodeos and farm practices like branding, calf roping and castration could be the next targets for animal-rights groups." One can only hope...
It would be illegal under the bill to organize or participate in a cockfight. Spectators would not be subject to prosecution under an amendment that was adopted during the debate.
Labels: animal cruelty, animal law, cockfighting
