Remember these AR
bills of the 107th Congress.........
S.3118
Sponsor: Sen
Ensign, John E. [NV](introduced 10/16/2002)
Latest Major
Action: 10/16/2002 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry.
Title: A bill to strengthen
enforcement of provisions of the Animal Welfare Act relating to animal fighting,
and for other purposes. .
And...........
H.R.5268
H.R.5268
By Mr. ANDREWS (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr.
BLUMENAUER, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. SMITH of New
Jersey, and Mr. TANCREDO):
Animal Fighting Enforcement Act -
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to increase the imprisonment penalty for animal
fighting violations from one year to two years. Makes it unlawful to ship in
interstate commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument used in
cockfighting.
The Humane USA PAC Also
Touted.........
.......Senator Ensign is also a leader in the
effort to improve the federal statutes addressing animal fighting. He was a
major supporter of the bill that was passed into law last year tightening the
federal cockfighting prohibition. As a result, cockfighters can no longer ship
their fighting birds across state lines. But he believes more needs to be done.
Along with Senator Wayne Allard and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senator
Ensign introduced a new approach in attacking animal fighting. The "Animal
Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act" will strengthen penalties for illegal
animal fighting by creating felony-level penalties for the activity and will
make it illegal to transport in interstate commerce the sharp metal fighting
implements that cockfighters attach to the birds' legs.
In a statement he made when the bill was first introduced,
Senator Ensign said, "I am pleased to join my fellow veterinarian, Senator Wayne
Allard, along with Senator Maria Cantwell in introducing this bill. This
legislation targets the troubling, widespread and sometimes underground
activities of dogfighting and cockfighting where dogs and birds are bred and
trained to fight to the death. Just recently in Las Vegas, a pit bull named
Petunia was recovering from extensive injuries after she was used as bait in an
illegal dogfighting ring. These activities are reprehensible and despicable. I
am committed to doing all I can to ensure the end of illegal animal fighting. We
cannot allow this barbaric practice to continue in our civilized
society."..............
And Now We Are
Forwarded This Where UPC
Said.......
........ Exotic Newcastle Disease (END), which has been
traced to cockfighting operations in California...........
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2003 10:54 AM
Subject: Letters Needed Against
Cockfighting
United Poultry Concerns [UPC] E-mail
List
(To be removed, please visit http://www.upc-online.org/email)
Please
Write a Letter Against Cockfighting
The Honorable Ann
Veneman
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400
Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250
Phone: 202-720-3631
Fax:
202-720-2166
Email: agsec@usda.govPlease add your voice to
those urging U.S. Department of Agriculture
Secretary Ann Veneman to ensure
enforcement of federal cockfighting
laws, and to publicly endorse the
Ensign-Allard-Cantwell (Senate) and
Bartlett-Andrews (House) legislation to
increase federal penalties for
cockfighting. Below is the letter sent by
United Poultry Concerns
(3/10/2003) to Secretary Veneman including an outline
of the issues.
March 10, 2003
The Honorable Ann
Veneman
Secretary of Agriculture
United States Department of
Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250
Dear
Secretary Veneman:
To strengthen Article 26 of the Animal Welfare Act, a
provision was
added to the 2002 Farm Bill that makes it illegal to move,
import or
export birds intended for cockfighting as of May 2003. To
strengthen
this provision even more, Senators John Ensign, Wayne Allard, and
Maria
Cantwell, and Representatives Rob Andrews and Roscoe Bartlett
are
introducing legislation to impose felony-level penalties for
violations
of the law including a ban on interstate movement of
cockfighting
implements. Please endorse this legislation.
Americans
overwhelmingly oppose cockfighting and want the laws against
cockfighting to
be enforced. Cockfighting violates the laws of 48
states, in 28 of which
states it is a felony, and facilitates a variety
of criminal activities. It
promotes disease among birds and is currently
costing taxpayers millions of
dollars in the form of Exotic Newcastle
Disease (END), which has been traced
to cockfighting operations in
California. It is estimated that it will cost
as much as $500 million
merely to contain this disease that will never go
away but more likely
evolve into ever more virulent, resistant strains as
long as
cockfighting, which involves the continual movement of birds
across
state lines and U.S. borders, continues.
It is our
understanding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has
never properly
enforced the interstate prohibitions of Article 26 that
have been in place
since 1976. According to The Humane Society of the
United States, alerts to
the USDA concerning illegal cockfighting
operations have not led to
departmental enforcement. In addition, we
understand that the USDA is
reimbursing game fowl breeders under the END
eradication program in
tax-dollar amounts up to $1,000 and $1,500 per
bird. Please advise us
regarding your policy of reimbursement to game
fowl breeders under the END
eradication program.
If such compensations be the case, we urge the USDA
to stop reimbursing
cockfighters with our taxes and instead use these taxes
to enforce
Article 26 of the Animal Welfare Act which prohibits the
interstate
transport of birds intended for cockfighting. We urge you to
endorse the
Ensign-Allard-Cantwell and Bartlett-Andrews legislation that
will
elevate the interstate commerce in birds intended for cockfighting to
a
felony offence.
Funds that are being used to eradicate a disease
believed to have
originated in cockfighting operations in California and
Mexico should be
dedicated to a vigorous federal program to eradicate
cockfighting in the
United States and uphold federal and state laws
prohibiting cockfighting
and its facilitation.
It is a betrayal if,
instead of aggressively attacking the illegal
activity of cockfighting, the
USDA is pursuing a policy that legitimizes
and encourages cockfighting not
only by ignoring it but by paying
cockfighters to destroy their flocks and
introduce a constant supply of
new birds in violation of Article 26 of the
Animal Welfare Act which
makes this commerce a crime.
I respectfully
request an informative response from you at your earliest
convenience.
Thank you for your prompt and serious attention to our
concerns.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis,
PhD
President
United Poultry
Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the
compassionate and
respectful treatment of domestic fowl.
http://www.upc-online.org
And Finally We Were
Forwarded A Link To This..........
But Who Had A Clear
Connection?
No one knows how this new strain of END make it
into California, assumptions were made and published in the media quoting
'experts', but no 'experts' names were dropped. Why not, was it a plant in the
media for those who would benefit? Now, immediately after the "could be
cockfighters" statement was published in the mainstream media, lo n behold here
comes a Vegan in the media, pumping new legislation, pumping law enforcement, on
and on. No mention about the illegal pet trade, no mention about any other thing
that could have brought END into this country, just get them cockfighters. Could
it have been a dual purpose setup to get the cockfighters and tail spin the
California poultry industry by the AR? Who knows? But there is not doubt it was
most certainly taken advantage of greatly. If anything, the gamefowl breeders
would be the last to cause such a travesty bringing havoc upon themselves, no
motive and no history of offense. But they are and were a perfect patsy, weren't
they? But who has motive and a history of offense in causing havoc to animal
industry? Do you think the 'liberate the hens' guys that migrated from the UK to
the US who hate to see the little hens in the cages laying their hearts out
might? Do you think the tax free orgs who fund the 'US liberate the hens' guys
might? Would it help the cause of Veganism? Would it cripple two animal related
industries at once? Would it give a free soap box for those who want to step up
in the media light and preach? That would be an act of 'domestic terrorism',
wouldn't it? But would that be anything new for these fanatics and those who
support them? Didn't a few years back one of those ex-British now American
fanatics at the head of one of those terrorist supporting tax frees say, I wish
Hoof and Mouth disease would come into this country? You tell me how difficult
it would be for some fanatic, with an agenda, a motive and a history of offense,
to drop a pathogen in an urbanized area of ethnic immigrants
Now finally
we see two 'experts' named and 'quoted'. One is evidently an 'expert idiot'
screaming vaccinate when the END task force tells us don't vaccinate, and
evidently the other is no 'terrorist expert'. His very statement of "introducing
diseases into the country would be a simple but devastating way of crippling the
economy" should set up red lights flashing and bells ringing. Who is constantly
trying to cripple all animal related economy? Moon says, "How different would
this be if this were terrorism, or if someone deliberately brought in fighting
cocks that were infected with some disease?' Well now, what makes you think that
someone didn't commit an action of terrorism, what makes you think that the
infection was not deliberate, but who would benefit from such an action?
I mean really, why would PETA hire Coronado and the HSUS hire
Goodwin, maybe because they took typing in high school or could it be for
something else?
Americans For Medical Progress have been telling the
public for years that these two AR groups have been playing 'good AR'(I think
you call that an oxymoron) 'bad AR' for years while dealing from the same gene
pool. The same fanatics that the AR are funding is putting bombs on the doorstop
of fast food restaurants and cutting brake lines on lobster trucks. Why would
anyone think they wouldn't drop a virus or two on the poultry industry and use
it to their advantage? But it would have to be hush hush so that some other
patsy animal industry would take the wrap and the AR could sing 'bring um down'
to the media. And what about instead of having to liberate the cage hens, the
USDA does the killing for them, isn't that precious? Man, do you believe the
fanatics would think that is a sweet deal all around for them or what?
Where do you go with this from
here???? I have been mulling over exactly where do you go with
this from here and how about this idea for starters. Whenever Vegan Wayne wants
something done, he writes a letter to some department or official for action and
then it gets publishes it in our mainstream media. How about if a petition or
letter would be done? Possibly to the Department of Justice, Attorney General
John Ashcroft, requesting an investigation into the END affair being a ' first
strike' domestic bio-terrorist attack carried out by political fanatics IE
animal rights domestic terrorists in order to devastate our poultry industry
while capitalizing on the political aspects of the epidemic? As many facts as
possible would have to be derived and stated in the letter or petition that
could create a valid case in point and head the task force into the right
direction.
It would seem 'so called' experts don't mind going on record
in the media with statements that carry no validity and heavy bias on their
part, why shouldn't we or some organization go on record calling for justice in
a case that wreaks of animal rights 'domestic terrorism' and 'political gain'?
As JW pointed out, the illegal pet bird trade does have history of offense and
is believed by some to be the culprit, but that culprit has no where near the
motive and history of offense of animal rights fanatics. To think that this
situation fell into the lap of the animal rights agendists as it is currently
being played out is just too good to be true for their agenda, without a little
help somewhere, don't you think?
Source: http://pub113.ezboard.com/fthepitmasterfrm0.showMessage?topicID=2655.topic
Where do you go with all this from here????