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A tip of the hat to Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono for cosponsoring the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, H.R. 2742, in Congress to enhance U.S. capacity to deter and interdict cockfighting and dogfighting crimes.
A murderous mass shooting occurred in April at a cockfighting event in Waianae that left two people dead and three others injured. Illegal animal fighting is almost always bound up with gambling, money laundering, narcotics trafficking and other crimes. Cockfighters strap knives or gaffs to the birds’ legs to enhance the bloodletting in the fighting pits.
It’s only because of Hawaii’s weak anti-cockfighting laws that these organized animal-cruelty crimes persist.
It’s our hope that state lawmakers make cockfighting a felony, as dogfighting already is. Hawaii’s other lawmakers serving in Congress would help Hawaii by following Hirono’s lead and cosponsoring the FIGHT Act to fortify the strong federal law against staged animal fights.
Wayne Pacelle
President, Animal Wellness Action
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