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State inaction requires
federal cockfighting felony

THE ISSUE The U.S. House is considering a bill that would make animal fighting, including cockfighting, a felony.

ATTEMPTS to toughen penalties for cockfighting have failed for years in the Legislature and City Council, so federal legislation is needed to cope with the barbaric blood sport in Hawaii and elsewhere. The U.S. Senate approved such a bill in April and the House should approve the measure after returning from its August recess.

Cockfighting is a misdemeanor in Hawaii, carrying typical slap-on-the-wrist fines of $100. Police officers have been complacent in enforcing the law and some may have been operating in collusion with the perpetrators. The FBI has been looking into evidence that some officers have received protection money from operators of cockfights, which include high-stakes illegal gambling.

Thirty-one states now treat cockfighting as a felony, and the North Carolina legislature enacted a bill this week to elevate the crime to that level. A similar bill is being considered by the California Assembly following approval by the Senate amid reports that cockfighting operations had moved into that state from Arizona and Nevada, which have stiffer penalties.

The bill in Congress would increase the maximum prison time for animal fighting, including cockfighting, to as much as two years. Cockfighting is now a federal misdemeanor, and U.S. attorneys have been reluctant to prosecute such cases.

It also would ban interstate and foreign shipment of razor-sharp knives and sharp metal spurs known as gaffs, attached as weapons to gamecocks' legs. A city ordinance approved in 2001 already makes possession of gaffs illegal in Honolulu.

A 2002 federal law bans interstate shipment of roosters for the purpose of cockfighting. The bill before Congress would elevate that crime from a misdemeanor to a felony.

The City Council backed away from imposing a ban on roosters in residential areas after a storm of protest by gamecock breeders. Former Big Island Rep. Eric Hamakawa blocked proposals to make cockfighting a state felony in 2002 and 2003, explaining that he had "a lot of cockfighting constituents."

Such legislative paralysis at the county and state levels makes federal legislation necessary to stop Hawaii from continuing to be a refuge for the gruesome sport. The bill is supported by the Bush administration, more than 200 police and sheriffs departments and the poultry industry. Cockfighting was blamed for the spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease, a fatal poultry disease, in 2002-2003.

Federal records show that the United Gamefowl Breeders Association has paid more than $600,000 in the past six years to lobbyists trying to defeat bills aimed at eliminating cockfighting. However, the brutality of the sport is indefensible.

"As a veterinarian, I believe passage of this bill is a vital step in ending one of the most barbaric practices concerning animals that exists today," says Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., the bill's sponsor.

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