OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The Oklahoma state legislature is considering steps that might ease penalties for cockfighting after judges challenged the ban on the blood sport, saying it may be turning chicken farmers into felons.
The Oklahoma Senate approved legislation a few days ago that would ask voters to decide whether cockfighting, outlawed by the state's voters in November, should be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor and the fines dramatically scaled back.
The state's House of Representatives is also looking at reducing penalties.
Proponents of the ban said the move to reduce penalties is a bid to subvert the law. They say measures under consideration would impose penalties that are a slap on the wrist and would be seen by cockfighters as part of the cost of doing business.
The ban, passed by a vote of 54 percent to 46 percent, carries penalties of one to 10 years in prison for those convicted of engaging in the cockfighting business, as well as fines of up to $25,000.
The proposed measures would call for fines of up to $500 and impose no prison time.
The cockfighting ban has led several judges in rural counties that are home to the sport to issue temporary injunctions barring enforcement. They say the penalties under the current ban may be too harsh.
The state's attorney general has been working on a challenge to the injunctions.
Citing rising costs for the jailing of nonviolent criminals, the Senate bill's author said the law is draconian and its enforcement will further drain the coffers of a financially strapped state.
"We cannot afford to lock people up for nonviolent offenses, which is what this is," said Oklahoma State Sen. Frank Shurden. "This is not a crime against people. Nobody is harmed by chicken fighting."
Several sheriffs in counties where cockfighting occurs said that reduced penalties would result in police placing a lower priority on cockfighting.
"When your resources are limited and you have to choose between going after someone cooking methamphetamine or going after someone committing a misdemeanor, I think you will want to go after the felony crimes," said McCurtain County Sheriff Mike Willeby.
Cockfighting is illegal in all states except Louisiana and New Mexico. New Mexico is considering legislation to ban cockfighting
Source: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=2385367
Amazing What A Drop Of END Contaminant And A Little Propaganda Will Do For The AR, Isn't It?
What are they, chicken?
Maybe the egg does come before the chicken.
Cockfighting ban advocate Rep. Ron Godbey, an Albuquerque Republican, has new allies in his fight: egg-laying companies.
They're worried that birds transported through New Mexico for cockfighting could carry Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has wiped out millions of birds in California and led Arizona to call a state of emergency in January and block poultry-related traffic into the state.
Attorneys for egg producers in Arizona, California and New Mexico met with Richardson's staff Thursday, asking for an immediate emergency ban on cockfighting, to slow bird traffic.
Godbey welcomes the support. His bill made it out of the House Judiciary Committee on a 9-0 vote and is headed for a vote on the House floor.
"It's never even made it out of committee before," Godbey said in wonder.
On the floor
Source: http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news03/031503_news_perdiem.shtml
Fund for Animals Sues to Close Wildlife Refuges to Hunting
"A wildlife refuge, by definition, should be a place where animals are protected, not persecuted," said Michael Markarian, president of The Fund for Animals.
Recreational hunting is "not consistent with the purpose of wildlife refuges," Markarian said, but it is being initiated or expanded at an accelerating pace.
Markarian cited the initiation or expansion of recreational hunting at three refuges in 1998, five in 1999, eight in 2000, eleven in 2001, and 15 in 2002.
"This alarming tide of turning our refuges into killing fields must not be left unchecked," he said.
More than half of the nation's 540 refuges currently allow hunting, which many believe helps keep animal populations in check and gathers support of hunting and fishing groups, who have helped fund many conservation efforts.
But The Fund for Animals contends that documents produced by FWS find that sport hunting has proven adverse effects on migratory bird populations, endangered species, other wildlife, fragile refuge habitats, and refuge visitors.
The lawsuit comes on the eve of the centennial celebration of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which began when President Theodore Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge in 1903 on Florida's Pelican Island to protect brown pelicans and other birds from over hunting.
The Fund for Animals points out that FWS has reported a $400 million backlog of projects and has stated that current refuge budgets are inadequate for critical research, monitoring of wildlife populations, and maintenance.
"It is outlandish that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not have the funds to protect refuge habitat and imperiled species, yet it somehow finds the money to open additional refuges to sport hunting," Markarian said. "It is simply a fleecing of American taxpayers."
Source: http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2003/2003-03-13-09.asp#anchor4