Galloway Cockfighting Ring Bust Shows Need For Better Laws: Activists

GALLOWAY, NJ — After more than 50 people were charged in a massive cockfighting ring bust in Galloway, animal welfare activists are calling on lawmakers to pass stricter laws addressing animal fighting nationwide.

About 50 roosters, four dogs and more than $37,000 in cash were seized from the “elaborate cockfighting operation,” police said. Read more: 52 Charged In Raid On Huge Galloway Cockfighting Ring: Police

Now, Wayne Pacelle of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy is calling on members of New Jersey’s Congressional delegation to double down on their efforts to pass a key piece of legislation called the FIGHT Act, which he says will address rampant dogfighting and cockfighting in New Jersey and throughout the nation.

“We applaud Galloway Township Police officers for immediately recognizing the severity of the crime scene they discovered, with 50 roosters, (some in bags), dogs kept in inhumane conditions, a fighting ring for spectators and tens of thousands of dollars in cash,” said Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “Animal fighting is cruelty to animals that is tied up with many other crimes that are dangerous and deadly to humans.”

Pacelle said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., already has a plan in place to address this issue and that the Congress should adopt his legislation, co-authored by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., to provide enhanced law enforcement capacity to crack down on dogfighting and cockfighting. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.-5; Tom Kean, R-N.J.-7; Bill Pascrell, D-N.J.-9; Chris Smith, R-N.J.-4; and Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.-2, are cosponsors of the companion measure in the U.S. House.

Booker introduced the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, S. 1529, in May 2023, and his bipartisan bill with Kennedy has 15 cosponsors. H.R. 2742, the House companion bill, was introduced in April 2023 by Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Andrea Salinas, D-Ore. With five New Jersey Representatives among them, it now has more than 100 cosponsors.

“I consider passing the FIGHT Act in Congress as urgent a priority as we have at Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy,” Pacelle said. “Only stronger laws and better enforcement of them will help prevent cruelty to animals like authorities recently discovered.”

The bill has more than 450 endorsing agencies and organizations, including 200 law enforcement agencies. It would strengthen existing federal law against dogfighting and cockfighting by allowing a private right of action against dogfighters and cockfighting, banning on-line gambling on animal fights, allowing for criminal forfeiture of equipment and properties used in the commission of these crimes, and enhancing prohibitions on shipping fighting roosters through the U.S. mail, according to Animal Wellness Action. Animal Wellness Action has discovered that cockfighters annually send tens of thousands of live roosters for cockfights in boxes through the U.S. mail.