Information Compiled by Mary Finelli
Assistant to the President
United Poultry Concerns
BIRD FLU ADDS NEW DANGER TO BLOODY GAME
5. CHICKEN LOBBY BACKS ANTI-COCKFIGHTING BILLS; OK ANTI-COCKFIGHTING RULING UPHELD
The National Chicken Council (NCC), the main lobbying agent of the poultry industry, has urged the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee to support federal legislation against cockfighting. NCC voiced its support on both humane grounds and for disease control. (Roosters used for fighting were implicated in major exotic Newcastle disease outbreaks the last 2 years in California, see #4: http://tinyurl.com/yrkoo ) "Healthcare in the game-bird world is obviously rudimentary," wrote NCC. H.R.1532 and S. 736, the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, seeks to amend the federal Animal Welfare Act by increasing animal-fighting penalties. Interstate sale or transfer of cockfighting paraphernalia would also be banned. The United Gamefowl Breeders Association rebuked NCC for siding with animal-rights advocates, and accused the poultry industry of spreading disease by transporting chickens in open-sided vehicles. {29} An extensive article on the connections between A.I., cockfighting and wildlife, with a primary focus on the Asian situation, can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/234bl
On a related note, Oklahoma's supreme court on March 30th upheld the constitutionality of a cockfighting ban voters had approved two years earlier (see #4: http://tinyurl.com/36ce6 ). Through legal maneuvers, cockfighting proponents had suspended enforcement of the ban in about two dozen counties. In its recent ruling the court stated, "At a minimum, the act serves the significant and legitimate public purpose of preventing cruelty to animals and prohibiting human involvement in bird fighting, obviously out of compassion for avian creatures." {30}
AVIAN INFLUENZA (BIRD FLU) FAQ'S
Is there a correlation between fighting cocks and the spread of avian influenza?
Yes, according to the World Health Organization there is a high probability. In present outbreaks, valuable birds, such as fighting cocks, can help maintain the virus in the environment or contribute to its further geographical spread. According to the World Health Organization, cockfighting, is suspected of spreading the highly lethal bird flu virus from poultry to humans through contact with blood, feces and droplets of fluid. For centuries, these practices posed no human threat. But a dramatic increase in poultry farming over the past 15 years has allowed avian influenza to become entrenched in the bird population. Now, these cultural routines represent a potential springboard for a human epidemic.
CONTACT BETWEEN BIRDS AND VISITORS WOULD BE HALTED
But Janssen said the most probable way for the avian flu to enter Southern California is through smuggling. With a porous border to the south, illegally imported poultry or pet birds carrying the virus may find their way in. Cockfighting, which rages north and south of the border, is thought to have aided the spread of Newcastle.
Cockfighting is harmful beyond sheer cruelty, Goodwin said. It promotes gambling, and it creates health problems far beyond the fighting rinks and breeding places.
For instance, a few people elsewhere in the world have contracted avian influenza — bird flu — after handling game birds who had been involved in staged fights, Goodwin said.
THE HSUS URGES BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO STRENGTHEN RESPONSE TO AVIAN FLU THREAT
United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405-0150
757-678-7875
FAX: 757-678-5070
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