NY A.9522— Animal Fighting Paraphernalia Ban
Sponsor: Assemblyman John J. McEneny
ASPCA Position: Support
Action Needed: Contact members of the New York Assembly Codes Committee and ask them to report A.9552 to the floor for a vote by the full Assembly.
While animal fighting is illegal in all states, New York law leaves an opening for underground animal fighters by not banning the necessary equipment for these fights. A.9552 would make ownership, possession, sale, transfer or manufacturing of animal fighting paraphernalia a Class B misdemeanor.
Animal fights are staged in order to wager on the outcome and to watch the bloody spectacle of animals forced to attack each other until one is so gravely injured or worn down that they succumb to a pitiful end. Fighters will even steal small pets from yards, or obtain them from “free to good home” ads, for use as bait animals.
New York State has long been a leader in establishing tough laws on animal fighting. The state has banned most aspects of this grisly underground practice: intentionally fighting animals, training animals to fight, allowing premises to be used for fighting or selling animals for such purposes, and attending these bloody battles.
Unfortunately, this exceptionally cruel practice remains a remarkably lucrative underground business. Champion-bred fighting stock sell for thousands of dollars. Yet, owning, possessing or selling necessary tools such as spring poles, treadmills, breaking sticks, and other paraphernalia required to increase blood thirst and physical strength in these animals, are not expressly prosecutable offenses in New York. It’s time for New York to give our officers more tools so they can stop these terrible fights—for good.
What You Can Do
It’s time to stand up for stronger animal fighting laws in New York! A.9522 passed the New York Senate in April; now it needs to be passed by the Assembly. Please be the voice of New York's animals and urge your legislator on the Codes Committee to report A.9522 to the floor for a full vote by the Assembly.
Please take two simple actions for animals right now:
1) First, customize and submit the email below to your representative in the New York State Assembly.
2) Follow up your email with a phone call to your representative’s office in Albany—find your New York state legislator’s name and phone number here. Leave a brief, polite message, stating that you are a constituent and reiterating the points you made in your email.
Thank you for your help, New York!
