Stowsentry.com - Locals testify for stronger animal cruelty penalties

by Marc Kovac

Capital Bureau Chief

Columbus -- The photos showed caged roosters, their feathers plucked and toes cut off.

More than 40 were removed from a Lorain County property by sheriff's deputies.

The animals' condition sickened Annette Fisher, who oversees the Ravenna-area sanctuary called on to care for the ailing roosters.

"Their once beautiful combs had been ruthlessly cut off their head, and their chests, stomachs and legs had been painfully shaved," Fisher, the executive director of Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary recently told lawmakers. "Several of them held their bloody eyes and heads down onto their chest because their pain was too much to bear to stand upright. This level of animal cruelty is definitely worthy of a felony."

Fisher was present at the Statehouse to testify before the Ohio House's Criminal Justice Committee as a proponent of House Bill 415,

The legislation, if passed, would increase criminal penalties against illegal fighting of roosters, dogs and other animals.

The proposed House legislation is being sponsored by Rep. Louis W. Blessing Jr., R-Cincinnati, and Rep. John Domenick, D-Smithfield.

HB 415 would not change existing prohibitions against "cockfighting, bearbaiting or pitting an animal against another" and related activities.

Those found guilty of cockfighting offenses face fourth-degree misdemeanor charges.

Such charges could result in up to 30 days in jail and paying maximum fines of $250.

Those guilty of dogfighting charges face fourth-degree felonies.

Such charges could result in six to 18 months incarceration and paying fines up to $5,000, for a first offense.

Third-degree felonies, which could result in one to five years incarceration and paying fines up to $10,000, would be meted out for subsequent offenses.

House Bill 415 would increase the penalty for cockfighting offenses to a fourth-degree felony and designate all dogfighting penalties as third-degree felonies.

The increased penalties are needed, because the profits from illegal animal fighting activities currently outweigh the potential legal costs, said Dean Vickers, who serves as the state director for the Humane Society of the United States.

"The penalty has to outweigh the gain that comes from breaking the law," he testified. "Clearly, no cockfighter is deterred by a class 4 misdemeanor when they can win tens of thousands of dollars at one of the larger fights."

"The question remains: How does cockfighting benefit our families and communities in Ohio?" asked Fisher. "Do we want to keep it around, sweep it under the rug and attract the criminal element from other states by keeping it a misdemeanor? Do we want to encourage these uncaring people to take up residence in Ohio so that they fight animals until they die a horrific, bloody and excruciatingly painful death because our laws are too lenient?"

Marc Kovac is the Dix Newspapers Capital Bureau chief. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com.

His Capital Blog can be found online at blogs.recordpub.com/capitalblog.