Fronteras

Debate continues this week in Washington over the 2013 Farm bill. One of the amendments being considered would eliminate a loophole in the current federal animal fighting law. Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society is a strong supporter of the amendment, saying along with Arizona's 1998 ban on cockfighting, it would "eradicate illegal animal fighting once and for all" in the state.

"The federal law, as it stands now, bans fights of animals and possessing animals for fighting, but it does not ban being a spectator or bringing a child to a dogfight or a cockfight," Pacelle said.

 Owners of fighting animals will typically abandon their dogs or roosters at the first sign of a raid, and claim they're only spectators, to avoid federal prosecution. Another amendment to the bill, which is strongly opposed by animal rights groups would, in effect, nullify Arizona's ban on veal and pig gestation crates.