Bacon, Salinas introduce legislation to crack down on animal fighting

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., has introduced bipartisan legislation to crack down on animal fighting and strengthen animal protections.

Bacon, along with Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Ore, introduced the Fight Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Animal Trafficking (FIGHT) Act on Wednesday. The act would amend Section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act to enhance legal enforcement opportunities for cockfighting and dogfighting, with the goal of protecting at-risk animals.

“It’s disgusting and inhumane that people profit off the cruel practice of forcing animals to fight for their lives,” Bacon said in a statement. “The FIGHT Act will embolden law enforcement to stop this inhumane and cruel animal abuse.”

The legislation would ban simulcasting and gambling on animal fights, halt the shipment of mature roosters (chickens only) through the U.S. Postal Service, create citizen lawsuit provisions for private legal recourse against animal fighters and include real property in forfeiture provisions for these crimes.

Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, said cockfighting and dogfighting are “abhorrent animal cruelty” that includes illegal gambling, money laundering, narcotics trafficking and other illicit activities. 

Heightened noise, increased auto traffic and devalued property values can also occur.

“Every day, countless animals endure horrific violence as people force them to fight for personal gain,” Salinas said in a statement. “Cockfighting, dogfighting and other blood sports are inhumane and unsafe — and Congress must intervene to protect innocent animals from such abuse.”

In addition to animal rights, Bacon said the FIGHT Act is also about public health safety.

“H5N1 bird flu emerged in Asia in the early 2000s and was spread and maintained by those who engage in cockfighting,” Bacon said. “There could be serious implications if it were to mutate into a strain of human-to-human transmission.”

The bill was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

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