An online petition seeking to protect roosters from deadly cockfights has collected around 20,521 signatures. Authored by Lex Talamo of Lady Freethinker, a non-profit animal protection organization, the petition is addressed to the House Agriculture and House Oversight and Accountability Committees, as well as Hawaiian Legislators.
In the description of the petition, Talamo stated that while cockfighting is illegal in all 50 US states, new investigations reveal that cockfights are still being held in numerous places in the US. Furthermore, people are still buying and selling fighting roosters over online platforms.
The US has HR 2742 or the FIGHT Act which increases protections for roosters but Talamo finds that despite the law, numerous roosters still suffer from fighting injuries.
Talamo also noted that Hawaii is one state that proves why further increased protections for roosters are needed. According to Talamo, authorities have conducted at least 10 raids into illegal cockfighting rings since 2018 and, at recent cockfights, around two people were shot to death, and officers seized unregistered guns as well as dozens of dead roosters.
The petition is seeking to ask law enforcement to use every possible avenue to hold animal abusers maximally accountable.
Additionally, the petition is also asking Hawaiian legislators to increase cockfighting’s classification in Hawaii from a misdemeanor to a felony crime, similar to other 42 states.
