Humane Society would snuff cockfighting magazines

By The Associated Press,
freedomforum.org staff

08.09.01

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WASHINGTON — The Humane Society of the United States wants two Arkansas cockfighting publications to fold and the editors of The Feathered Warrior and The Gamecock to be prosecuted.

The animal welfare group wants to eliminate all cockfighting. The group's latest effort aims at getting rid of niche publications that it believes promote the sport.

"These magazines are the glue that holds the industry together," said society spokesman Wayne Pacelle. "Most people would be shocked to learn that there are above-ground magazines that promote this gruesome and barbaric practice."

Pacelle told freedomforum.org that his group has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Chief Postal Inspector to prosecute the publishers.

J.C. Griffiths of Hartford is the editor and majority stockholder of The Gamecock, a publication that began in 1935.

Verna Dowd of De Queen is the editor and owner of The Feathered Warrior, which dates to 1903.

Neither was aware of the Humane Society's efforts until contacted by an Associated Press reporter. They said they don't believe they're doing anything illegal.

"I think I have the same rights as Reader's Digest, Hustler, or anybody else," Griffiths said.

"This is a freedom of speech issue," Dowd said. "Why don't they crack down on pornography and magazines like Soldier of Fortune? This is not harming anyone."

David Horowitz, executive director of the New York-based Media Coalition, agreed that writing about cockfighting would be protected speech "unless it comes close to aiding and abetting a cockfight."

"For this type of magazine to be held liable it would have to show intent to commit an unlawful act," he told freedomdorum.org. "You can publish a book about how to make a bomb but you would be close to committing a crime if you give the book to someone you know is planning to build a bomb."

Pacelle cites an amendment to the Animal Welfare Act approved 25 years ago. The amendment states that it is unlawful for any person to knowingly use the mail service to promote "an animal fighting venture except as performed outside the limits of the States of the United States."

"There's no question they have every right to say they believe in cockfighting, or that it doesn't constitute animal cruelty, but they go beyond the line and go outside the law when they promote fights that are illegal under state and federal law," Pacelle said.

Cockfighting, in which two roosters fight, often to the death, was banned in Arkansas in 1879. Small knives or gaffs are routinely affixed to the roosters' spurs. Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico allow the practice.