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Home Page We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts. Animal Defenders of Westchester |
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Cockfighting still legal in New Mexico N.M. Panel Rejects Cockfighting Ban Plan By PETER BARNES Associated Press Writer SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A state Senate committee rejected a proposal to ban
cockfighting, making it unlikely the sport will be outlawed this year in one
of only two states where it is still legal. The Conservation Committee voted 6-2 Tuesday to table the proposal after
nearly three hours of impassioned testimony. One committee member called the proposed ban a "ridiculous" waste of
legislators' time. "This is what you call a rural vs. urban issue," Sen.
Phil Griego said. The state House approved a ban in 2003, and a similar bill is pending
there this year, but even if it passed the House, it would still run into
trouble in the Senate. Louisiana is the only other state where cockfighting is legal. Thirteen of New Mexico's 33 counties outlaw cockfighting. Cockfighting supporters described the proposed ban as an attack on a
centuries-old tradition, which people don't have to watch if they don't want
to. "We do not claim to be without faults, but we do claim that cockfighting
is not one of them," said Luis Sevilla, an engineering student at New Mexico
Tech who said he was "born and raised cockfighter." Supporters of the legislation called cockfighting barbaric and inhumane.
"It's simply cruelty to animals," said Viki Elkey, a lobbyist for Animal
Protection Voters. "To us, it's just the idea of enjoying animals killing
each other." Sevilla said cockfighting pales in comparison to violent video games and
television programs. Actor Wilford Brimley spoke against the proposed ban Tuesday, saying he
moved to New Mexico because of the state's respect for individual rights.
Other celebrities, including actress Pamela Anderson, supported the ban but
none appeared at the hearing. On the Net: Legislature:
http://www.legis.state.nm.us
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/1110/2-23-2005/20050223091504_14.html
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