U.S. Attorney’s Office, The Humane Society of the United States Applaud Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act.
George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, and the Humane Society of the United States
are raising public awareness of the newly enacted federal animal fighting law that makes it a felony
to knowingly bring a child under the age of 16 to an animal fight and a misdemeanor to knowingly
attend an animal fight.
Since 2008, it has been a federal felony to sponsor, exhibit, buy, sell, deliver, possess,
train or transport an animal for participation in an animal fighting venture.
This crime is punishable by a term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of $250,000.
The newly enacted Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, which was included in the final 2014 Farm Bill,
makes it a federal felony to knowingly bring a minor under the age of 16 to a dogfight or cockfight,
punishable by up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and a federal misdemeanor
to knowingly attend a fight as a spectator, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The HSUS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who worked together in the second-largest dogfighting raid in U.S. history, praise these upgrades, which provide law enforcement
with additional tools to put an end to organized dogfighting and cockfighting.
George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, said:
“Animal fighting is a cruel activity, it is not a sport. No one should have to watch such brutality,
but it is particularly outrageous to expose children to these fights because it desensitizes them
to violence and brutality. Criminals also use these animal fights to sell drugs and hide illegal profits.
The enactment of this new law gives us additional law enforcement tools to crack down
on this barbaric activity and the other crimes that go along with it.”
