Tennessee Senate passes bill to make cockfighting a felony
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Those who participate in or witness cockfighting could have serious penalties if a bill passed by the Tennessee Senate becomes law.
State senators passed SB1782, which would increase the penalty for participating in cockfighting from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony. The bill would also increase the fines for spectating at a cockfight.
Class A misdemeanors can be punished by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail plus fines, but felonies are punished with prison time and steeper fines.
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According to Sen. Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol), who carries the bill in the Senate, Tennessee has become a “destination” for cockfighting, and cockfighting rings bring people together and see multiple crimes committed during fights.
According to the ASPCA, cockfighting is a “blood sport” that sees two roosters “specifically bred for aggression” encouraged to fight to the death.
“Besides being cruel to animals, cockfighting is closely connected to other crimes such as gambling, drugs and acts of violence,” according to the ASPCA. “Bets on the fights can range from a few hundred to thousands of dollars, depending on the reputation of the breeder’s birds. Attendees can sometimes even purchase box seats the way you would for a sporting event.”
Lundberg had similar remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, March 28, citing a recent raid on a cockfight that had illegal gambling, drug use, and prostitution involved.
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“Tennessee has become a destination, believe it or not, for cockfighting,” he said. “It wasn’t long ago in East Tennessee there was a cockfight. It was a pretty traditional cockfight, which means not only were there cocks in the pit fighting, but there was gambling, drinking, drugs, prostitution going on—pretty typical of a cockfight. It was busted because of all the other activities. More than 200 people were snared in that raid; 185 of them were from outside of the state, and the majority of those were from outside of the country. I don’t think our economic development needs to be attracting cockfighters to this state.”
By increasing the penalty for cockfighting, Tennessee would become the 43rd state to classify it as a felony, according to the ASPCA.
The Senate passed the bill by an overwhelming majority on a bipartisan vote, with only Republican Sens. Paul Bailey (R-Sparta), Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City), Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains), Steve Southerland (R-Morristown) and Speaker Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) against. Republican Sen. Ken Yager (Kingston) abstained from the vote.
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The measure is a bipartisan effort, as the House version of the bill is brought by Nashville Democrat Rep. Darren Jernigan. Jernigan’s version of the bill is set for discussion in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on Tuesday, April 2.
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