The Assembly Committee on Public Safety today approved SB 156, a bill by Senator Nell Soto (D – Pomona) to increase penalties for second or subsequent violations of laws pertaining to the illegal fighting of game birds (as well as other animals).

Current law says that anyone who owns, trains, fights or facilitates fights between cocks or other birds can be found guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, jail time or both.

If approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, SB 156 would make a number of changes to existing law, including:

• Increasing the penalty for a second or subsequent offense of fighting cocks (or other animals) from a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in the county jail, by a fine not to exceed $25,000, or both, to an alternate felony/misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in the county jail or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $25,000, or both;
• Increasing the penalty for a second or subsequent offense of possessing or training any bird, cock or animal with the intent of engaging them in fights from a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in the county jail, by a fine not to exceed $25,000, or both, to an alternate felony/ misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in the county jail or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year; by a fine not to exceed $25,000, or both;
• Increasing the penalty for causing any animal to fight with another animal, or permitting the same to be done on any property under his or her control, or aiding or abetting the fighting of any animal from up to six months in the county jail, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or both; or up to one year in the county jail, by a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both.

According to the Humane Society of the U.S., a key sponsor of SB 156, “Cockfighting is a centuries-old blood sport in which two or more specially bred birds, known as gamecocks, are placed in an enclosure to fight for the primary purposes of gambling and entertainment. A cockfight usually results in the death of one of the birds; sometimes it ends in the death of both.  A typical fight can last anywhere from several minutes to more than half an hour.  The birds cannot escape from the fight, regardless of how exhausted or injured they become.”

“Cockfighting is an unacceptable form of animal cruelty that is widely practiced even though it is illegal in almost all jurisdictions,” Senator Soto said. “In 2003, we passed legislation that increased the penalties for engaging in this cruel and inhumane activity. 

“Unfortunately, California's anti-cockfighting law still lags behind our neighboring states,” Soto added. “Arizona, Nevada and Oregon have established felony-level penalties for cockfighting, making California, with its simple misdemeanor-level cockfighting penalties, a regional refuge for illegal cockfighting activity. To discourage cockfighters from other states coming to California and to stop these cockfighters from breaking the law, my bill will adopt felony-level penalties for specified second and subsequent violations of our state's cockfighting laws."