[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8637-8638]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          ANIMAL FIGHTING PROHIBITION ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2007

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now 
proceed to Calendar No. 91, H.R. 137.

[[Page 8638]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 137) to amend Title 18 United States Code to 
     strengthen prohibitions against animal fighting, and for 
     other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, this bill has broad bipartisan support with 
more than 300 co-sponsors in the House. The companion Senate bill is S. 
261. The lead Senate sponsor is Senator Cantwell. There are 30 Senate 
cosponsors. The Senate Judiciary Committee considered and voted to 
report the bill favorably on March 8, 2007, and the Senate bill is on 
the Senate Business Calendar. The legislation in similar forms has 
passed one or both Houses of Congress several times. The bill also has 
strong endorsements ranging from the American Veterinary Medical 
Association to the poultry industry to hundreds of law enforcement 
groups nationwide. The bill has been endorsed by the United States 
Department of Agriculture, the Humane Society of the United States, and 
numerous other animal rights and law enforcement groups, including more 
than 400 police departments.
  This bill contains a clarifying amendment like the one we adopted in 
the Senate Judiciary Committee to ensure that it does not affect 
legitimate hunting activities.
  Animal fighting is cruel. In this spectacle, dogs and roosters are 
often drugged to make them hyper-aggressive and forced to keep fighting 
even after suffering severe injuries. The animals are enclosed in a pit 
that they cannot escape, and often are killed during the fights.
  Animal fighting also spawns other criminal conduct, and endangers 
public safety. Animal fighting is often associated with illegal 
gambling, narcotics trafficking, public corruption, and gang activity. 
Cockfighting has been identified as a pathway for the spread of bird 
flu, and banning animal fighting is an important step to protect 
against this pandemic.
  Federal anti-animal fighting legislation is already on the books, but 
this new law brings penalties for animal fighting more in line with 
other penalties for animal cruelty and creates new tools for law 
enforcement to enforce these laws nationwide. Those engaged in animal 
fighting ventures must know that this crime is serious and will be 
punished as a felony.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the 
table, and any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, 
without further intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 137) was ordered to a third reading, read the third 
time, and passed.

                          ____________________