If Tennesseans need proof that the state is a center for cockfighting, a Saturday raid on a large-scale operation in Polk County should provide it. About 100 citations were issued by law enforcement officials during the raid in Ducktown. Preliminary reports indicate that a majority of those cited were from out of state.
That is often the case, veteran law enforcement and animal welfare organization officials report. Current Tennessee statutes make cockfighting a misdemeanor with correspondingly limited penalties. It is a felony in 39 other states. Tennessee cockfighting laws, in fact, are so weak that they serve, in a way, as an open invitation to those who stage and attend the events. It’s not hard to understand why.
Those convicted of cockfighting in states where cockfighting it is a felony often are fined thousands of dollars and sentenced to strict probation. Repeat offenders go to jail. That’s not the case in states where cockfighting remains a misdemeanor.
In Tennessee, for example, the penalties for organizers of the fights and individuals who flock to them are relatively minor — typically a small fine and court costs. Those involved in cockfighting typically view such fines as a nuisance or as part of the cost of doing business rather than as a deterrent. That mindset won’t change until the state Legislature makes cockfighting, like dogfighting, a felony in Tennessee.
Efforts to toughen Tennessee’s cockfighting laws in the past have floundered. Bills occasionally are introduced in the legislature, but rarely advance. There’s no organized lobbying group for cockfighting, but there appears to be an active group of supporters willing to use the political system to promote their cause.
John Goodwin, manager of fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States, says cockfighting can become a voting issue, particularly for rural legislators who get calls urging support for the industry around election time. Legislators should ignore that appeal.
Cockfighting is a vicious blood sport, if that term can be used in this context, in which roosters are equipped with sharp spurs, shot up with drugs and then fight to the Illegal activities — gambling and drug use, sometimes associated with organized crime — are part of the cockfighting world, authorities say. The only way to slow if not halt the activity is to make it a felony. That would provide local and state authorities a tool they need to deal effectively with the problem.
Until that is done, Tennessee will remain a mecca for the cockfighting culture and its barbarous practices. Cockfighting is not the innocuous activity its promoters would have us believe. It is a nefarious, cruel and corrupting one. The Legislature should enact laws to make it a felony in its next session.