Montgomery, AL – Feathers could fly again at the Alabama Legislature over a bill to increase the penalties for cockfighting.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Wednesday for a bill that would provide up to a year in jail for organizing, attending or betting on cockfights. A second offense would carry a sentence of one to 10 years in prison.
The current penalty is a fine of $20 to $50. The Humane Society of the United States rates Alabama's law as the nation's weakest.
The bill's sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Myron Penn of Union Springs, said it will be difficult pass. A similar bill died in the Legislature last year after drawing opposition from people who raise the birds.
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