by Michael Markarian

— Our thanks to Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, for permission to republish this post, which originally appeared on his blog Animals & Politics on June 20, 2012.

The U.S. Senate [on June 20, 2012] voted in favor of an amendment to the Farm Bill, introduced by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., to make it a federal crime to attend a dogfight or cockfight, and a felony to bring a child to an animal fight. The vote was an overwhelming 88 to 11.

This is a great turn of events, as the original animal fighting amendment was not among the list of 73 amendments allowed to be considered during the Senate debate on the Farm Bill. But thankfully, because Sen. Vitter had a previously approved amendment relating to the Animal Welfare Act, it was allowed to be modified to include the animal fighting language as well.

Forty-nine states (all but Montana) have penalties for animal fighting spectators, who finance the criminal activity with their admission fees and gambling wagers, and provide cover for animal fighters who blend into the crowds during law enforcement raids. It’s time to sync up the federal law with the state laws, and close this remaining gap so that law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to crack down on the entire cast of characters involved in animal fighting.

We are grateful to Sen. Vitter for offering this amendment, and to Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who simply would not take no for an answer on this issue. They received tremendous support and cooperation from Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., in getting this done. Special thanks also to Sens. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Scott Brown, R-Mass., who were co-authors of the original legislation, S. 1947, the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act. Kudos to all 88 senators who voted in favor of the measure, including Ranking Member Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who had a big part in letting the amendment proceed.

And thanks go to all the animal advocates who contacted their lawmakers and urged them to support this important anti-cruelty legislation. Read the press release from HSLF and The HSUS for more information.