House approves tougher penalties for cockfighting

Birmingham, AL -- People involved in cockfighting would face big fines or lengthy jail time under a bill given key approval in the House on Wednesday.

The measure makes the third offense of participating in an event where two gamefowl fight a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The birds often fight to the death wearing steel blades on their legs.

For more than 100 years, the underground sport has been a misdemeanor, carrying a $100 fine or up to 30 days in jail.

"They just took this as the price of doing business," Murrell Smith Jr., R-Sumter, said of people convicted of cockfighting. "This puts more teeth in it and they're going to think twice."

State Attorney General Henry McMaster said the legislation also would help his quest to crack down on dogfighting, which has ties to illegal drug activity.

The bill would allow law enforcement to seize property tied to dogfighting - from a cage and pickup truck to a barn and a farm. It does not apply to cockfighting.

But McMaster said it gives law enforcement an incentive to break up cockfighting rings, too, because their departments could keep any gambling money, which can be thousands of dollars.

The original measure would have made first-offense cockfighting parallel to dogfighting penalties - a felony, punishable by a $5,000 fine or five years in prison.

But the House amended the measure to make a first offense a misdemeanor with a $1,000 fine or a year in jail. A second offense would increase to $3,000 or three years in jail.

"That part got watered down, which is so much better," said House Agriculture Committee chairman Billy Witherspoon, R-Conway.

Witherspoon said he supports increased fines but he doesn't think watching or participating in a cockfight should reach the level of a felony.

"We kill thousands and thousands of chickens every day and we consume them," Witherspoon said. "We raise quail and then we release them and shoot them. Where do we stop?"

Many argue cockfighting is a part of South Carolina's character. For example, the flagship university's mascot is a fighting gamecock.

Smith countered: "There are a lot of things that are part of the culture that are no longer acceptable."

Cockfighting is banned in every state except Louisiana and New Mexico, according to the Humane Society of the United States. It's a felony in 31 states and a misdemeanor in 17, including South Carolina.

Nobody knows how big the industry is in South Carolina. The sport grabbed the spotlight when the state's agriculture commissioner was charged in a federal crackdown on an Aiken cockfighting ring.

Earlier this year, Charles Sharpe gave up his office and pleaded guilty to taking a $10,000 bribe to protect a cockfighting ring and lying to a federal officer.

Breeders and feed mills have fought to protect the sport that involves high-dollar sales of fighting birds.

Since the cockfighting penalties were so meager, law enforcement often didn't want to waste the man hours to break up events.

Although the measure is not as strong, McMaster said, the House "took a giant step and sent a very strong message."

 

why they gotta keep messin with peoples cocks?they should just leave it be