Bill Would Increase Penalty for Operators and Spectators of Animal Fighting in NY

New York, NY —

Among the thousands of bills vying for passage in the state legislature is one that would crack down on illegal dog and cockfighting operations. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: Right now, seven badly maimed roosters are being housed at this Brooklyn rescue center. Its location is a secret - the fear is that gangs may try to reclaim the animals after they were seized in cockfighting operations.

Activists say the previous owners tore off their feathers and cut off their wattles. They also cut off their spurs and inserted razor-sharp metal prosthetics, into holes in their legs - the better to kill an opposing rooster in a cockfight.

Patrick Kwan of the US Humane Society says New York has some of the weakest laws against animal fighting in the country, making it a destination for gamblers from other states. Under the proposed law, spectators and animal trainers would face possible jail time, not just the fighters.

KWAN: Animal fighters, when they hear law enforcement coming in, they would just jump to the spectators and say 'I'm not an animal fighter, I'm a spectator'. and in cases like that, these law enforcement folks can't tell who's an animal fighter and who's a spectator.

REPORTER: The bill passed in the state assembly's agriculture committee, but Kwan worries that given the state's many other problems, it won't come to a full vote. For WNYC, I'm Arun Venugopal.