Senate passes bill to stop animal fighting, smuggling

The U.S. Senate has passed by unanimous consent a bipartisan bill, the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007.

The House of Representatives, on a 368-39 vote, had previously passed the bill that makes violations of federal animal fighting law a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, makes it a felony to transport an animal across state or international borders for the purposes of animal fighting and prohibits the interstate and foreign commerce in knives and gaffs designed for use in cockfighting.

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (RThousand Oaks) proposed the bill.

Recent months have seen a rise in animal fighting arrests in cities nationwide.

It is also dangerous for children to be close to these animalsChildren are often brought to the fights. Some dog fighters steapets to use as bait for training theidogs. Some allow trained fighting dogs to roam neighborhoodand endanger the public. In addition, cockfighting habeen identified as a major contributor to the spread of avian flu throughout Thailand and otheparts of Asia. Many of the humanwho died from avian flu contracted it from fighting birds.

Roosters smuggled into the United States for the exprespurpose of cockfighting could likely carry the disease, like cockfighting roosters which brought Newcastle disease to California in 2002 and 2003which devastated the U.S. poultry industry.