$ 5,000 reward offered in South Carolina by animal welfare groups for information leading to arrests and convictions for cockfighting

COLOMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA, March 23, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ – Today, Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and Animal Wellness Foundation (AWF) announced a $ 5,000 reward for information that resulted in the successful process of any individual for violation of state or federal law (7 USC § 2156) against animal struggles. The announcement follows an operation last week in Spartanburg County, where authorities arrested three men and Georgian security forces arrested eight individuals in a cockfight last month.

Prior to the recent incidents in Nevada and California, AWA and AWF developed detailed investigations and dossiers on individuals in Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and claimed to be deeply involved in cockfighting activities, with several of them sending cockfighting birds to Mexico, the Philippines, Guam and other distant locations. AWA and AWF presented the information to law enforcement agencies and officials, including US prosecutors representing three jurisdictions in the state.

“Federal and state authorities have a duty to enforce our laws against barbaric cockfighting and dogfighting practices,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “But your good work depends on the cooperation and alertness of the citizens. We ask people who know about illegal animal fighting activities to help us end these forms of cruelty. “

“The bloody sport of cockfighting creates a cesspool of illegal activities, such as gambling, drug use and disease,” said Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action. “We will make the state of Palmetto safer when we eradicate this blatant criminal activity and hope that the good people of South Carolina will seek our $ 5,000 reward.”

According to the federal law to combat animals, it is a crime:
• Consciously sponsoring or exhibiting in an animal-fighting venture.
• Participate consciously in an animal fighting adventure or have an individual who is not yet 16 years old participate in an animal fighting adventure.
• Consciously buy, sell, own, train, transport, deliver or receive any animal for the purpose of getting the animal to participate in an animal control venture.
• Consciously use the US Post Office’s courier service, or any “writing, wire, radio television or other form of communication on, or use an interstate commerce facility,” to advertise an animal for use in a fighting enterprise against animals, or to advertise a knife, harpoon, or other sharp instrument designed to be attached to a bird’s leg for us in an animal-fighting enterprise, or to promote or in any other way an animal-fighting enterprise, except when performed outside the United States
• Consciously selling, buying, transporting or delivering in interstate or foreign trade “a knife, harpoon or any other sharp instrument” designed or intended to be attached to a bird’s leg for us in an animal fighting venture.

Penalties for each violation of any of these provisions allow for a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $ 250,000 for perpetrators, except for an adult participating in an animal-fighting venture. The penalties for an adult participant are one year in prison and a $ 5,000 fine.

An “animal fighting adventure” involves a fight conducted or to be conducted between at least two animals for the purpose of sport, gambling or entertainment.

What to do:

Anyone with information about illegal cockfighting activities can send information to [email protected]. Residents can also contact the appropriate US attorneys, the state attorney general or county sheriffs or district attorneys.

Animal Wellness Action (Action) is a 501 (c) (4) organization based in Washington, DC, with a mission to help animals by promoting legal standards that prohibit cruelty. We defend causes that alleviate the suffering of pets, farm animals and wildlife. We advocate policies to end dog and cock fighting and other forms of malicious cruelty and to tackle industrial livestock and other systemic forms of animal exploitation. To prevent cruelty, we promote the implementation of good public policies and work to enforce those policies. In order to enact good laws, we must elect good legislators, which is why we remind voters which candidates are concerned with our problems and which are not. We believe that helping animals helps us all.

The Animal Wellness Foundation (Foundation) is a private charity based in Los Angeles with a mission to help animals by making veterinary care available to anyone who has a pet, regardless of economic ability. We organize rescue efforts and medical services for dogs and cats in need and help homeless pets find a loving caregiver. We are advocates of putting veterinarians at the forefront of the animal welfare movement; promoting responsible pet care; and vaccinating animals against infectious diseases such as distemper. We also support policies that prevent cruelty to animals and that alleviate suffering. We believe that helping animals helps us all.

Marty Irby
Animal Wellness Action
+1 202-821-5686
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AWA 2020 cockfighting investigation