It’s hard to imagine what pleasure people can get from watching dogs tearing each other apart or roosters slashing each other with razor-sharp knives attached to their legs.

But an estimated 40,000 people fight dogs in this country, and pit bull fighting is suspected in Central Virginia.

Cockfighting takes an even bigger toll, with an estimated 50,000 people raising cocks for battle in California alone.

Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states, though cockfighting is legal in Louisiana and New Mexico.

The Humane Society of the United States is pushing for federal legislation that would boost the penalties from misdemeanors to felonies for the illegal movement of fighting animals across state lines.

While beefing up laws against this barbaric ritual seems like a no-brainer, the legislation is stuck in a House committee chaired by U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia. The Sixth District congressman, who represents Lynchburg and chairs the Committee on Agriculture, has not moved this law along to the full House.

“There’s no excuse for inaction on this,” says Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society.

Pacelle’s right. It’s hard to imagine what can be gained by letting this legislation languish. If humane considerations aren’t enough, there are other consequences to tacitly allowing the raising of animals as fighting machines.

Pit bulls, in particular, are branded as dangerous animals that need to be restrained at all times. But Lorrie Lee, a Naruna resident who has rescued and rehabilitated American Pit Bull Terriers for eight years, said the animals are not born with the desire to kill. It’s beaten into them.

“The dog’s nasty for a reason,” Lee said. “Because the owner made them that way.”

When a pit bull does escape a chain or pen, the results can be devastating. Children and adults alike are mauled and even killed by animals doing what they’re trained to do.

Cockfighting has caused even bigger concerns among mainstream agriculture. An outbreak last fall of exotic Newcastle disease in California appears to have started in birds smuggled from Mexico. The highly infectious disease spread to four other states, and authorities killed more than 3.3 million birds and spent $90 million to try to contain the disease.

The legislation that Goodlatte is sitting on would authorize up to two years of prison time for violations of the federal animal fighting law, rather than the misdemeanor penalty of one year in jail under current law.

Prosecutors are understandably reluctant to pursue such cases without felony-level penalties. Most states have felony-level penalties for animal fighting. Only in Idaho, Iowa and Wyoming is dogfighting just a misdemeanor.

The Humane Society offers up to a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of dogfighters.

Anyone who knows about this illegal activity should report it, and Virginians should contact Congressman Goodlatte and urge him to pass the commonsense legislation that would place tougher penalties on this cruel animal abuse.

Source: http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031774648011&path=!frontpage

SPEAKING OF HITLER

I evidently really antagonize some readers when I mention Hitler. It is necessary for me to respond to those who are upset or offended by my not infrequent use of this analogy.

Hitler was an evil dictator who not only was responsible for the death of millions; he was responsible for taking my father away when I was seven weeks old to fight in Europe. I was four when I next saw my Dad. Make no mistake about it, there is not the slightest tolerance in my bones for old Adolph.

When I mention Hitler, some readers see me comparing our politicians or parties to Hitler or the Nazi Party. This has never been the case. When recalling the oppressive and evil dictators of the last century names like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, Pol Pot, and Mugabe come to mind. Earlier despots like Nero, Diocletian, and Cromwell are not usually useful analogies when discussing potential dangers of current-day governments because most people are unfamiliar with them and those who are, recognize that the circumstances change more, the farther you go back into history.

I try very hard to describe the environmental problems and animal rights agendas in the terms of government-caused parts of the equations. I strive hard to describe how this aspect of these issues is accelerating the shift of power in this country from State responsibility to Federal or Central authority. Our part of the shift (Endangered Species, Animal Welfare, Marine Mammals, Wilderness, Invasive Species, Public Land Acquisitions and Closures, Taking Without Compensation, Double Standards For Government and Citizens, etc.) should be viewed in this larger context because I believe the government of the US (like other developed nations and Europe especially) is becoming exactly what we revolted against in 1776 and what the Founding Fathers feared most - a central government with all power vested in one place.

History was always a good subject for me. When I was putting kids through college I worked part-time at the National Archives, often in the Rotunda guarding the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights. As a result I have read a lot about our Founding and have had long conversations with folks who have written books about these matters. It is this experience that I bring to the table with my wildlife biology and bureaucratic servitude. Which brings me back to Hitler.

What is the difference between Hitler and all those other guys I mentioned? If you said he was popularly elected, you get an A. All those other guys either came to power by violence and mayhem or by rigged elections or like Stalin insinuated themselves into established dictatorships.

When Hitler was elected Prime Minister in 1932 and given the Chancellorship in early 1933 he assumed control of all aspects of German life. In the next three years, according to John Keegan the noted historian, Hitler "effectively restored German prosperity". I suggest to you that if Germany had strong State governments and divided powers with defined responsibilities at the Federal level, even at the depths of their economic misery Germany could not have been turned into the evil power she became. I further suggest to you that the more we concentrate American power and authority at the Federal level and vacate power and authority at our state level, the more we become like Germany was in 1933, that is to say with all power in a central point. I further suggest that the less US Courts look to the Constitution for firm guidance and turn to the whims of the moment, the more they become like the Courts Hitler took charge of in 1933. So that is ½ of the equation about using Hitler as an analogy for many of the issues we increasingly face today, power consolidation and whimsical rules in an elected government are just as dangerous as in a dictatorship.

The other half of the analogy usefulness of mentioning Hitler is his seductive appeal to voters. In addition to the intimidation of his armed thugs (which was extensive) he offered solutions to every problem.

-         He would create jobs for everyone. (Sound familiar?)

-         He would build autobahns. (Ike became famous for doing that here.)

-         He would identify and segregate people by race and offer advantages to favored groups and deny others their rights. (Sound familiar?)

-         He would (and in the eyes of Germans could) exercise all the absolute power he possessed to answer every concern of those who supported him

In 30 years we in the US have gone from state regulation of animals to proposed Federal laws about how often you may breed your own dog on your own premises thanks to the Animal Welfare Act. Likewise, the progress of the Endangered Species Act in regards shifting State jurisdictions to Federal authorities has been astonishing. The trend only pauses and never reverses. The continuation of this trend only ends when States have nothing left to give and the Federal government, like the German government of 1933, has it all. Then, as the Founding Fathers knew from Cromwell (who had abused many of their grandfathers) and Nero and Diocletian, trouble begins.

Our Constitution attempted to establish a system of government that, should an ill-intentioned person gain control, could minimize the damage of a despot. This naturally made the government less able to solve every issue of the day. It left preservation of this system to each succeeding generation to resist the siren call of an all-powerful central government that can answer your every problem because such a government can likewise take everything you have including the lives of you and your loved ones.

Hitler is the shining example of the evil that the Founding Fathers tried hard to guard against. Mentioning him is meant to be a sobering reminder of what an all-powerful central government is capable of, even one that "elects" it's leaders. His example is too cogent to allow the use of this analogy to be prohibited. I will continue to use him where I feel appropriate and to those who are offended, I can only apologize and ask them to consider why I am doing it.

Jim Beers

2 April 2004

This article and other recent articles by Jim Beers can be found at

http://www.allianceforamerica.org/bb/viewforum.php?f=91