Cockfighting transport law begins Wednesday

A new federal law carrying stricter penalties for organized cockfighting will take effect Wednesday.

Anyone caught transporting game birds across state lines or overseas faces a maximum fine of $15,000 and up to a year in jail. The measure was approved in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act a year ago.

Although local cockfighters will still be allowed to own and fight their birds within the state, they say the measure will have a drastic effect on small-town tourism.

"It won't affect me one bit because it's already illegal in all the states we used to travel to," said Paul Hulin, a New Iberia native who has fought roosters all over the world since 1945. "But people come from all over the world to watch the rooster fights in Sunset every month. They spend money on gas, food and hotels - money that would never come to the town otherwise. We're talking about a weekend event that draws 500 or 600 people."

The interstate ban was first introduced in 2000 with the support of the Humane Society of the United States. Senior VP Wayne Pacelle said the ban is aimed at crippling the cockfighting industry, not local economies.

"The cockfighting industry is national and international in its scope, but it's not big enough in any one state to have a sizable operation," he said. "In Louisiana, they really rely on people coming in from out of state.

"Most pits are situated near the state's borders to attract fighters from Texas, Mississippi or Alabama. It should shrink participation at Louisiana cockfights and it should also cut off the profits from shipping birds out of the state. We really hope this marks the beginning of the end."

Hulin said the Atchafalaya Game Club in Henderson should not be affected much by the interstate ban. Like Hulin, most of the club's 3,000 members come from the Acadiana area, said owner Liz Barras.

More affected should be some of the larger pits on the state's borders, such as the Bayou Club in Vinton. Mark Johnson, owner of the Bayou Club, said the ban will take some of his customer base. He said the pit, located on Interstate 10, is the largest in the country.

"We will still have business because this is a cultural thing in Louisiana, but this would be a negative thing for the whole state," he said. "We draw people from all over the world and fill this place up every week."

Hulin said beyond its effects on tourism, the ban is another attack on a pastime his family has enjoyed for three generations.

"To me, they are nothing more than a pain in the neck," he said of the Humane Society. "Most people don't care because it doesn't affect them, but their agenda is to stop all animal use - hunting, horseracing, the circus, rodeos ... "

Pacelle said the Humane Society has already introduced legislation that would make the penalties for bringing birds across state lines a felony punishable by up to two years in jail.

"It'll take a little while for us to get it going, but I think there are very few legislators who will stand up and defend the cockfighting industry," he said. "Our main point is that cockfighting is an inhumane and barbaric activity. If it's considered criminal conduct to pit dogs against one another, then there should be no distinction."

Voters in Oklahoma banned cockfighting last year, leaving Louisiana and New Mexico as the only states where it is still legal. Animal rights groups will seek a ban this year in the New Mexico legislature.

Pacelle said a victory would put more pressure on state legislators to ban the sport in Louisiana, something they have been reluctant to do in the past.

"If they made cockfighting illegal, I would probably move to Mexico or the Philippines," Johnson said.