The Louisiana Senate Refuses to Allow 'Chicken Boxing'

As incredible as it may seem, a Louisiana State Senator actually brought up a bill that would make "chicken boxing" legal.  This "sport," very similar to cockfighting but with the birds wearing rubber gloves over their talons, was offered as a harmless, bloodless sport by Sen Elbert Guillory (R- Eunice).

Louisiana outlawed cockfighting in 2008 -- the last state in the country to do so.  Cockfighting is a disgusting enterprise; cruel to the birds, debasing to the humans who want to watch such a spectacle, and a blot on the state.  Outlawing cockfighting was long overdue. 

I could not help but see this bill as a deliberate attempt to circumvent the anti-cockfight legislation by creating some exceptions.  And, of course, when sheriff is not around, the protective gloves might be removed from the birds and they can fight by using their own talons.

Fortunately, the Louisiana Senate saw it this way too: it turned down the bill by a vote of 29-8.  For once, more level-headed members of the Legislature prevailed.

I did a cursory on-line search.  No state allows bullfighting.  (Thank heaven for small favors.)  In all states, dog fighting is a felony offense.  One state, Alabama, even specifically has outlawed bear wrestling.  I wondered whether this was a misspelling, as in forbidding unclothed individuals from wrestling, whether in a ring or in a pool of Jello.  No, it forbade ursine participants from doing so. 

While people tend to associate cockfighting and dog fighting with the backwoods South, it does occur in other areas as well.  It is important to ensure that the anti-animal fighting laws are not modified so as to provide loopholes in which those disgusting practices can continue.






http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/04/louisiana_senate_rejects_chick.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/la-senate-refuses-protect-chicken-boxing-23231566