Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. § 2156)

The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 (AFPEA) amended the Animal Welfare Act, Chapter 3 of Title 18 United States Code, with the intent to “strengthen prohibitions against animal fighting, and for other purposes.” The AFPEA introductory section provided that "whoever violates subsection (a), (b), (c), or (e) of section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 3 years, or both, for each violation.” The main point of this act is that it made it a felony to organize a dogfight and allowed for penalties to include up to 3 years of imprisonment and up to $250,000 fine for each offense of interstate or foreign transport of animals for fighting purposes. The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has the power to enforce this act. (“H.R. 137—110th Congress: Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007.” www.GovTrack.us. 2007. May 23, 2018 https://www. govt rack. us/congress/bills/110/h r 13 7 ).

The AFPEA made the following changes to the AWA:

■ Subsection (c)—insert "instrumentality of interstate commerce for commercial speech” to replace “interstate instrumentality”;

■ Subsection (d) & (e)—striking and inserting “[i]t shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, buy, transport, or deliver in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, a gaff, or any other sharp instrument attached, or designed or intended to be attached, to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture.”

■ Subsection (i)—addition of this new subsection which read “The criminal penalties for violations of subsection (a), (b), (c), or (e) are provided in section 49 of title 18, United States Code.”

Animal Fighting

Animal fighting is organized animal abuse. The most common forms of animal-on-animal fighting to be discussed in this chapter are dogfighting, cockfighting, and hog-dogging. Other forms of organized animal fighting can include fish, small birds, and horses (Merck, 2013; National Humane Education Society, 2018).

Cockfighting

Cockfighting dates back over 3000 years in Persia, India, China, and other Eastern countries. It was introduced in Greece near 400 BC and extended into Asia Minor and Sicily (Sakach & Parascandola,

2016). Greek writings from this period describe the use of gaffs (artificial spurs). Romans are credited with the introduction of cockfighting to Britain. Ancient writings describe artificial spurs made of iron, copper, and silver (Dinnage et al., 2004). Cockfighting spread throughout Europe and eventually made it to the American colonies, where it became popular along with dogfighting (Lockwood, 2013).

Cockfighting is now illegal in all 50 states in the United States. However, it is still legal in U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. The AFPEA (2007) has made it a federal violation to transfer cockfighting implements across state or national borders. It increased the penalties for violations of the federal animal fighting laws. Cockfighting is legal throughout Southeast Asia and Latin America (Lockwood, 2013).

Many breeds of fowl have been developed from the red jungle fowl for fighting and showing. The two main fighting gamecocks originate from Spanish and Yankee gamecocks (Dinnage et al., 2004). Many gamecocks are hybrids of these birds bred to harness their aggressive characteristics (Merck, 2013). A gamecock will usually have its comb, wattles, and earlobes (dubbed) cut off. These are the red tissues above the head and below the beak. This is done to decrease the bird’s weight and reduce potential injury during a fight, specifically bleeding. The feathers of the tail may be cut as well, as feathers that may hinder ambulation during a fight. In addition, fighting gamecocks have their natural spurs on the legs removed to facilitate attachment of gaffs and knives (Lockwood, 2013).

Types of Cockfights

The most common methods of staging cockfights involve the Main, Battle Royal, and Welsh Main. In the Main, two matched cocks fight an odd number of battles, with the majority of acquired victories deciding the winner. The Battle Royal involves any number of birds fighting at the same time and allowing them to kill each other until only one remains. The Welsh Main has eight pairs of cockfights; the eight victors fight one another until the last remaining pair fights one another. The most popular organized cockfight in the United States is the derby. This involves 10-30 cockers (owners/handlers) entering 4-12 gamecocks each. The cocks are fought round robin. The cocker who has the highest number of winning gamecocks is the winner (Sakach & Parascandola, 2016).