State Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) launched a invoice on Wednesday to bolster penalties for cockfighting, against the law that not solely harms roosters however poses a public well being threat by spreading fowl flu.
Cockfighting, a blood sport through which two roosters combat to the dying, is illegitimate in all 50 states. Cockfighting is a misdemeanor in California, and the Bay Space has just lately seen a number of busts of cockfighting rings and breeding farms.
In 2022, a person in Ceres in Stanislaus County was sentenced to 16 months in jail for working a cockfighting breeding farm, the place federal brokers found practically 3,000 sport fowl bred for the aim of preventing. Final yr, a person in Monterey County was suspected of possessing 350 roosters raised for cockfighting.
Holding individuals accountable for possessing birds used for cockfighting may be difficult since regulation enforcement should show intent.
Rogers’ Cockfighting Cruelty Act is a invoice that goals to present regulation enforcement extra instruments to deal with cockfighting.
Lifeless roosters lie on a property within the space of North Atkins Street in Lodi on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Workplace deputies found a cockfighting operation after responding to a name of cockfighting and playing. (San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Workplace through Bay Metropolis Information)
It might prohibit possessing greater than three roosters per acre, or 25 roosters on one property. It exempts business poultry operations, poultry hobbyists, faculties, animal companies, and tasks from FFA and 4-H.
An individual possessing greater than 25 roosters on one property or greater than three roosters per acre must show that the birds usually are not getting used for cockfighting.
For every rooster over the restrict, the proprietor would face civil penalties of as much as $2,500.
An identical invoice was launched by Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) in early 2024. Nonetheless it by no means moved ahead after Hart canceled a committee listening to for the invoice.
Higher threat of avian flu
The transfer to introduce laws supposed to crack down on cockfighting additionally comes amid a nationwide fowl flu outbreak that has decimated farms. In line with the Heart for Illness Management, 38 of the 70 people within the U.S contaminated with fowl flu since early 2024 got here from California.
Gamefowl can pose a larger threat for contracting and spreading fowl flu since they’re usually uncovered to bloody birds and are transported throughout state strains with out oversight, in response to the Humane Society of the USA.
“Not only is cockfighting malicious, it also poses a significant risk for the spread of avian diseases,” mentioned Ann Chynoweth, Senior Director of the Animal Cruelty Marketing campaign for The Humane Society of the USA, within the launch. “With the rising cost of eggs being a persistent issue for California consumers, this legislation will help protect against the driver behind those price increase — avian flu.”
If authorised, the invoice would go into impact in January 2027.
