Ensure New Jersey Legislators Take Dog Fighting Seriously
- by: ASPCA
- recipient: U.S. Senate
Dog fighting is a cruel but unfortunately lucrative underground business.
A new bill would codify dog fighting as part of New Jersey's racketeering law -- ensuring that state legislators take this barbaric, deadly activity seriously.
Racketeering laws carry separate prison terms and fines that would help law enforcement approach dog fighting as a serious, cruel offense driven by a desire for profit and often encompassing many perpetrators and canine victims.
Ensure that New Jersey legislators take dog fighting seriously and help put an end to this cruelty. Urge your senators to co-sponsor S539/A3162.
Dear Senator,
Dog fighting is a cruel but unfortunately lucrative underground business. It is also generally accompanied by other illegal activity -- including illegal drugs, weapons and gambling -- that is hazardous to public safety.
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S539/A3162 would codify in the New Jersey Penal Code the crimes of dog fighting and acting as a leader of a dog fighting network. Specifically, this critical humane legislation would designate the act of serving as a leader of a dog fighting network as a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) violation.
By codifying dog fighting in the New Jersey Penal Code and as part of the state's racketeering law, which carry separate prison terms and fines, S539/A3162 seeks to ensure that law enforcement approaches dog fighting as a serious, cruel offense driven by a desire for profit and often encompassing many perpetrators and canine victims.
I urge you to co-sponsor and support this important bill.
